Scoring by committee has never been the Vancouver Canucks strong suit – until recently.

The Canucks got goals from four different scorers as they dismantled the Buffalo Sabres 4-1 Thursday night at GM Place in Vancouver.

Alex Burrows scored a short-handed marker and Nolan Baumgartner chipped in with a power-play goal as the Canucks collected their sixth win in seven games.

Vancouver Canucks Alexander Burrows (right) is congratulated by teammate Ryan Kesler (20) after scoring against the Buffalo Sabres during the second period of NHL hockey action in Vancouver on Thursday. (CP Photo/Richard Lam)

Over the past few seasons, Vancouver has cemented its place among the top teams in the Western Conference by leaning on one of the most dangerous lines in the NHL: Todd Bertuzzi, Brendan Morrison and Markus Naslund.

The trio accounted for the bulk of the Canucks' offence and until the Ottawa Senators line of Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza arose this season, the Canucks' threesome of Bertuzzi-Morrison-Naslund was the toast of the league.

This season, in the face of the new, up-tempo NHL, the Canucks have employed a new philosophy – balanced scoring. And, much to the delight of coach Marc Crawford, it seems to be working.

Going into Thursday night's action, Vancouver was in a three-way tie for top spot in the tight Northwest Division with Calgary and Colorado.

Burrows, a minor league call-up from the Manitoba Moose, put the Canucks on the board first with his second goal of the season halfway through the second period.

Jason Pominville tied the game for the Sabres with a power-play marker, but Baumgartner's goal with the man advantage broke the tie early in the third period.

Baumgartner cradled a Daniel Sedin pass from down low and, using teammate Anson Carter as a screen in front of the Buffalo net, blasted a shot by Sabres goalie Ryan Miller.

Morrison gave the Canucks a 3-1 edge after burying the rebound of Steve McCarthy's shot. bounced to him off Miller's pad. Jarkko Ruutu added an insurance goal with an empty-netter. Canucks netminder Alex Auld made 23 saves in the victory and picked up an assist on Ruutu's goal.

Scoring by committee would be the best way to describe how the Canucks are stringing together victories.

No single player has particularly outstanding offensive numbers during the recent streak, though Henrik Sedin has two goals and six assists in his last seven games.

Vancouver has also had to overcome injuries to keep pace in the tight Northwest Division race. All-star defenceman Ed Jovanovski has missed nine games with a groin injury, while two-way forward Richard Park injured his knee last week.

Add Matt Cooke to the list after the forward suffered his second practice-time injury of the season. Cooke hurt his ankle in a drill this week, having previously had his jaw broken by a shot in practice in November.

The blue-line has tried hard to fill the void caused by Jovanovski's absence, with Baumgartner finding a home in Vancouver after years of bouncing from teams in the NHL and minor leagues.

Baumgartner has a goal and six assists in the last eight games, giving him 23 points (four goals, 19 assists) for the season.

The Canucks next play Saturday night when they host the Montreal Canadiens (CBC, 10 p.m. ET).

with files from Canadian Press