CANUCKS 1, AVALANCHE 0: Cory Schneider turned aside all 43 shots he faced to make Chris Higgins' shorthanded goal in the first period stand up as Vancouver completed a season sweep of its Northwest Division rival.

The Canucks, who also skated to a 1-0 win over Los Angeles on Monday, have won four in a row overall and 15 of their last 17 versus Colorado. Vancouver pulled to within two points of St. Louis and the New York Rangers in the race for the Presidents' Trophy.

Schneider preserved his second shutout of Colorado this season by stopping all 16 shots in the third period. Schneider, who had 24 saves in a 3-0 win over the Avalanche on Nov. 23, has three shutouts this campaign and four in his career.

After tallying twice - including the overtime winner - in the teams' last meeting on Saturday, Higgins opened the scoring with 2:56 remaining in the first period. Colorado turned the puck over at the offensive blue line and Higgins accepted Samuel Pahlsson's feed before skating in and beating Semyon Varlamov for his 16th goal.

Varlamov finished with 21 saves for the Avalanche, who sit two points out of eighth place in the Western Conference with a league-low three games left on their schedule.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Vancouver swept the season series for the first time since winning all three contests from the then-Quebec Nordiques in 1987-88. ... The Canucks have outscored the Avalanche by a 19-5 margin. ... Colorado went 0-for-5 on the power play.