After learning that they may be without goaltender Roberto Luongo for several weeks, the Vancouver Canucks will attempt to post a season-high fourth straight win tonight as they host the Red Wings at GM Place.
Luongo was injured during Saturday's 3-1 Canucks' victory over the Penguins while making a pad save early in the first period and had to be helped off the ice by his teammates. Curtis Sanford relieved the three-time All-Star and made 17 saves.
Luongo has posted an 11-5-2 mark this season with a .928 save percentage. He also had a career-long shutout streak earlier in the season, going 242 minutes and 36 seconds without allowing a goal. He has an NHL-best five shutouts on the season and a 2.18 goals against average.
Vancouver also recalled netminder Cory Schneider from Manitoba of the American Hockey League on Saturday.
Daniel Sedin recorded a goal and two assists, while Pavol Demitra tallied the other two goals in the win over Pittsburgh to give him seven points (3 goals, 4 assists) over his last four games. Henrik Sedin assisted on all three scores for the Canucks, who got points in all four games of their recent road trip (3-0-1) and have won seven of their last nine overall (7-0-2).
Vancouver leads the Northwest Division with 28 points and is 6-2-1 at home this year. The Canucks, who also won three straight from November 4-8, have won four of their last five at home. However, the lone loss in that span came against Detroit on November 2.
That win by Detroit kicked off its current eight-game point streak (7-0-1), and the Red Wings have won their last five games after Saturday's 5-2 victory over Calgary.
Jiri Hudler and Pavel Datsyuk each had a goal and an assist in helping Detroit match a season-high win streak set from October 18-27. The Red Wings will tonight shoot for six wins in a row for the first time since an eight-game run from January 17-February 5 of last season.
Marian Hossa had an empty-net goal and Andreas Lilja added two assists, while Ty Conklin got the start between the pipes and picked up the win with 31 saves. Conklin has been an excellent backup to Chris Osgood this year, going 6-1-0 with a 2.41 GAA in seven starts.
Central Division-leading Detroit improved to a 10-1-1 this season on the road, where the club has won five straight, and wraps up a three-game tour of western Canada tonight.
The Red Wings and Canucks have split two games this year, though Detroit has won four of six in the series and four of the last six in Vancouver.
