Wild 3, Canucks 2, OT

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -Minnesota defenseman Brent Burns has figured out the key to being the overtime star: He needs to stay close to Marian Gaborik.

Burns converted a rebound of a shot by Gaborik in the final minute of overtime for the second straight game, scoring with 35.8 seconds left to lead the Wild to a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night.

"Same as last time, just follow Gabby around and good things will happen," said Burns, who scored with 18.9 seconds left to beat Colorado 3-2 on Sunday.

Tuesday's game winner was sweeter, Burns said, because he'd been on the ice for two early Vancouver goals, including one that went in off his skate.

"This one was nicer because you never want to be on the ice for two goals, so it was nice to get one back for the team," the 22-year-old Burns said.

Brian Rolston tied it by beating Roberto Luongo on an unscreened 53-foot slap shot with 3:23 left, and Mikko Koivu also scored for the Wild, who moved within a point of the Canucks atop the Northwest Division.

"It's not a matter of picking corners on that one, I just put my head down and shot it," said Rolston, who skated over the blue line at full speed after a neutral zone turnover, then blasted the puck under Luongo.

"I feel I can score from inside the blue line if I get it right, but usually you're not going to score on a straight look like that," he said. "It looked like he was coming out to challenge and just didn't get down in time."

Niklas Backstrom made 22 saves for Minnesota, which has won four straight for the first time since opening the season with a six-game streak.

Matt Cooke and Jan Bulis scored two minutes apart in the first period for the Canucks, who lost consecutive games for just the second time since late January. Luongo finished with 26 saves, including a good stop off Gaborik in the slot in overtime, but Burns fought off Kevin Bieksa to bat in the rebound. Luongo also robbed Pavol Demitra 15 seconds before Roslton's blast beat him.

"He walked in and I came out to challenge, but when he was shooting I wasn't set," Luongo said. "I wasn't able to get the pad down in time."

Bulis opened the scoring 4:37 in, driving backdoor to convert a cross-ice pass from Jeff Cowan, who spun off his check at the top of the faceoff circle. Bulis' shot at the empty net hit the post, but bounced in off a sliding Backstrom.

Cooke doubled the lead two minutes later by redirecting Brendan Morrison's pass off the boards in off the skate of a defenseman while being checked to the ice.

Minnesota only managed one shot through the first 13 minutes, but hit two posts in that span, including Todd White's backhand off the inside of the iron and back out along the goal line after a deke around Luongo on shorthanded 2-on-1.

"We definitely needed a wake up call," Rolston said. "They came out flying. They were ready for this hockey game, and we weren't. We weren't skating, we weren't ready for the pace of the game and we spotted them two goals."

Koivu closed the gap eight minutes into the second period after defenseman Keith Carney pinched in and stole the puck, skating behind the net before feeding a backhand pass to Koivu alone in the slot for a quick shot past Luongo's glove.

Vancouver's struggling power play managed just two shots on seven chances against Minnesota's second-ranked penalty kill to extend its scoreless skid to four games and 19 advantages. The Wild was 0-for-2 against the NHL's No. 1 penalty kill.

"It's unfortunate we lost a point, but it was another tight game that could have gone either way and if our power play scores us a goal, it probably would have gone our way tonight," said Canucks coach Alain Vigneault, who was also quick to defend his goalie on Rolston's long slap shot. "Rolston had 30 feet to walk into that shot and he's got one of the best shots in the NHL."

Notes: Canucks D Willie Mitchell sat out with a sore groin, and Vancouver called up C Nathan Smith from the AHL to replace Tommi Santala, who hurt his shoulder in Anaheim Sunday. ... Minnesota C Wes Walz missed a fourth game with a sore back, but enforcer Derek Boogaard returned after missing four with a bad back. ... G Manny Fernandez, who hasn't started since spraining his knee Jan. 30, dressed as the backup for a fourth-straight game. ... Singer Christina Aguilera, who played a concert at GM Place on Monday, watched from a curtained-off area in the press box.