(Sports Network) - After avoiding their first 0-4 start in club history, the Vancouver Canucks hope to make it two victories in a row tonight in a battle with the Dallas Stars at General Motors Place.
The Canucks allowed 13 goals in losing their first three games, managing only six tallies themselves. They reversed both of those trends on Wednesday, slamming the Canadiens, 7-1.
"It's nice to get the win finally after four games," said Roberto Luongo after stopping 27 of the 28 shots he faced. "We spoke about relaxing before the game and just going out there and just having fun, playing our game, and not worry about our record right now."
Vancouver outshot Montreal 14-4 in the first period, getting goals from Ryan Kesler, Mason Raymond and Steve Bernier in the frame. Henrik Sedin added a pair of goals and an assist in the victory, while twin brother Daniel had three helpers.
Daniel Sedin, though, suffered a broken bone on his left foot and will be sidelined for 4-6 weeks. A 31-goal scorer last year, he has yet to light the lamp this season but does have four assists.
Vancouver plays the final contest of three straight at home, while Dallas will wrap a three-game road trip tonight. After beginning the season with consecutive shootout losses to Edmonton and Nashville, the Stars posted a 5-2 win over Calgary on Friday, dealing the Flames their first loss of the season.
Alex Auld appeared in his first game with the Stars since being acquired from Ottawa in a July trade, halting 21 shots for the victory.
"We had a good start [Friday] and were able to make it count," said Auld. "The offense put up some goals and the defense was solid in front of me, which makes my job a lot easier."
Dallas is hoping Auld can spell Marty Turco on a regular basis. Turco appeared in a career-high 74 games last year and posted a career-worst 2.81 goals against average.
Turco should return to net tonight and he is 17-6-1 with a 1.91 GAA in 25 career games versus Vancouver.
Mike Ribeiro and Brad Richards each had a goal and an assist in Friday's win, while Stephane Robidas also had a two-point night with a pair of assists.
Though Mike Modano is expected to miss his third straight game due to a rib injury, Jere Lehtinen could make his season debut tonight after sitting out the first three games because of hip and groin issues.
The Stars and Canucks have split their four-game series in each of the previous three seasons. Dallas has dropped four of its last six in Vancouver.
