Henrik Sedin has four goals and 18 assists in 13 games this month for the Vancouver Canucks. Henrik Sedin has four goals and 18 assists in 13 games this month for the Vancouver Canucks. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)

Nearing the halfway point of the season the Vancouver Canucks are finally where most hockey observers expected them to be — on the right side of the playoff dividing line.

And they will try for their fourth consecutive win on Tuesday night against the Phoenix Coyotes.

The Canucks are playing the second game of a four-stop road trip, which started Sunday with a big win over Northwest rival Calgary.

Mathieu Schneider waived

According to multiple reports, Mathieu Schneider was waived by the Canucks on Tuesday.

The 40-year-old defenceman was signed in the summer for $1.55 million US this season to help bolster the team's power play on the back end, but his debut was delayed by a shoulder injury.

Schneider has two goals and three assists in 17 games, last suiting up for the Canucks on Dec. 16. He chafed at being a healthy scratch.

Another NHL club can put in a waiver wire claim for Schneider by Wednesday afternoon. If not, the American blueliner may have to make a decision regarding his career.

Ever since coach Alain Vigneault took umbrage with a reporter's suggestion that his club was playing to the level of its competition after losses this month to Anaheim and St. Louis, Vancouver has outscored its last three foes by a combined 13-3.

They've beaten teams in the middle (Nashville, Calgary) and the bottom (Edmonton) of the Western Conference standings, and have moved up to eighth and could be as high as fifth by the end of Tuesday night.

Team more focused: Sedin

"I don't know if desperate is the right word, but we have been more focused, I think, going into games and throughout the games," Henrik Sedin told the Vancouver Sun. "We haven't taken a lot of shifts off and that's a big difference from the first 20 games."

Sedin has been one of the leaders, starting a new points streak with three goals and three assists in the last three games. The Swede was held off the scoresheet against the Blues, the only time in 13 games in December that has occurred.

His 50 points (18G, 32A) are second only to San Jose's Joe Thornton in the NHL points race.

Mason Raymond was the big gun the last time out, netting a hat trick in the 5-1 victory against the Flames.

Vancouver scored a power play goal for the third straight time, and rank third in the NHL with the man advantage.

At the other end of the ice, goalie Roberto Luongo was recognized as the league's third star for stopping 73 of 76 shots in his last three starts.

Phoenix (24-13-3), which is in fourth, has a better conference record than anyone Vancouver has faced in the last two weeks, although the Coyotes are coming off a loss on Monday night.

The Coyotes fell short in a shootout to San Jose 3-2, but now have points in their last four games (3-0-1). Phoenix has allowed just six goals during that span, as goalie Ilya Bryzgalov's only competition for consistently outstanding play so far this season has been Ryan Miller of Buffalo.

The Sharks by two goals but fought back with second period scores from Petr Prucha and Shane Doan.

Bryzgalov then helped his team earn the point, making 19 of his 36 stops in the third period.

While the Coyotes are playing well, one area of improvement could be the power play. The team has gone 0-for-6 over the last two games with the man advantage, slipping to 22nd in the NHL.

The teams are playing for the first time this season, splitting four contests in 2008-09.

Vancouver returns to action on Thursday in St. Louis.