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Canucks continue dominance of Canadiens

Jan 17, 2007 - 5:41 AM MONTREAL (Ticker) -- The Montreal Canadiens could not find a way to beat Roberto Luongo and they still can not beat the Vancouver Canucks.

Returning to his hometown, Luongo posted his third shutout of the season and the Canucks continued their domination of the Canadiens with a 4-0 victory.

The Canucks have won nine of their last 10 contests and have now won five straight on the road. Luongo has been just as hot, as he has won nine of his last 10 starts.

"It's a good cycle, they play well and I play well and we feed off of each other," Luongo said. "Right now, especially on the road, we're playing a great game."

Luongo stopped eight shots in the first period, nine in the second and 13 in the final session to post his 30th career shutout.

Josh Green and Lukas Krajicek scored 2 1/2 minutes apart in the first period to give Vancouver a 2-0 lead and the Canadiens never really made a game of it.

Ryan Kesler made it 3-0 with a goal with six minutes left in the second period and Jan Bulis capped the scoring with a tally 55 seconds into the third period.

The Canucks won the only meeting between the clubs last season and are 8-0 with a tie in the last nine games against the Canadiens. The last time Montreal beat Vancouver was November 30, 2000, when it posted a 4-3 victory.

"Our guys have confidence right now," Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault said. "Work ethic and preparation are the keys to our winning and our work ethic is really high right now."

Headed to his first All-Star Game next week, Cristobal Huet looked like anything but one of the league's premier goaltenders, allowing four goals on 24 shots. He has now dropped four of his last five decisions overall and is winless in five career appearances against Vancouver.

"We have no confidence, our passes aren't precise and our play isn't there," Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau said. "You look at Vancouver 5-on-5 and they aren't better than us. Five-on-five is about work and going to the net."

Montreal has now been shut out in back-to-back games and has been outscored, 14-3, in its current three-game losing skid.

"When you lose 4-0 there's nothing you can say, there are no excuses," Montreal captain Saku Koivu said. "We had some chances but we're not getting the goals. The bottom line is we aren't getting the offense. They capitalized on our mistakes."