1

Final 1 2 3 Tot Vancouver 0 0 1 1 Dallas 0 1 1 2

2

Preview | Box | On the Ice | Recap 

Final Boxscore

Canucks-Stars Preview

By JEFF MEZYDLO,

(AP) -- A rash of injuries hasn't prevented the Vancouver Canucks from stringing together some wins.

The surging Canucks look for a season-high fourth consecutive victory when they visit the Dallas Stars on Friday night.

Alex Burrows had a goal with an assist and recently acquired Matt Pettinger also scored to help short-handed Vancouver (10-7-0) post a 5-2 win at Minnesota in the opener of a five-game road trip Thursday.

The result was a third straight win and fourth in five games for the Canucks, who are playing without stars Roberto Luongo (rib injury), Daniel Sedin (foot), Pavol Demitra (shoulder) and Steve Bernier (flu). Vancouver entered that contest having lost 82 man-games to injury.

"We're having fun and we believe in each other and every night it's a new guy stepping up," said Andrew Raycroft, who made 28 saves in his fifth straight game in place of Luongo.

Enforcer Darcy Hordichuk scored his first goal in 50 games and Pettinger found the back of the net in his second since signing with the Canucks on Monday.

"You're not going to win with one line and you're not going to win with two lines," right wing Mikael Samuelsson said. "You're going to win with your whole team."

While the Canucks are fortunate to get contributions from some unlikely sources, players like Burrows and Henrik Sedin - who scored his eighth goal Thursday - are still expected to carry the load in the offensive end.

Burrows had a goal while Henrik Sedin and Samuelsson each added two assists in Vancouver's 4-3 shootout win at home over Dallas on Oct. 11. Sedin has two goals and four assists in his last three games versus the Stars.

While Luongo likely won't return until next week, the red-hot Raycroft is expected to be back in net for this contest. The former Calder Trophy winner is 4-1-0 with a league-leading 1.60 goals-against average this season, and 3-0-0 with a 1.67 GAA against Dallas.

Current backup Cory Schneider allowed three goals on 12 shots in his only action during a 7-2 loss at Anaheim on Oct. 30.

Vancouver is 3-5-0 on the road, but will try for a fourth straight win over Dallas (6-3-6), which tries to bounce back after a 3-2 overtime loss to Calgary on Wednesday.

"(The Canucks) will be another tough matchup," defenseman Stephane Robidas told the Stars' official Web site. "It will be another chippy game. They'll come strong."

Dallas' James Neal has scored six of his team-leading nine goals in the last six games. He has two with an assist in five career contests against the Canucks.

Despite the return of longtime veterans Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen from injuries Wednesday, Dallas dropped to 0-1-2 after winning two in a row. The Stars are 1-0-6 in games that have gone beyond regulation.

"We want those points," said center Mike Ribeiro, who's gone without a point in his last two contests, but had a goal with an assist against the Canucks last month. "But we cannot look back now, we can only look forward and focus for the next game."

After missing two games with flu-like symptoms, the Stars' Marty Turco stopped 19 shots against the Flames. He's 4-2-4 with a 2.33 GAA this season and 17-6-2 with a 1.95 GAA versus Vancouver.

Updated November 6, 2009