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Ducks-Canucks Preview

Mar 24, 2010 - 5:42 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Anaheim (34-30-8) at Vancouver (44-25-4), 10:00 p.m. EDT

The Anaheim Ducks' recent surge was aided by playing at home. Translating that success to the road hasn't gone well all season, but a matchup with the Vancouver Canucks could get them back on track.

The Ducks look to beat the Canucks for a fifth consecutive meeting Wednesday night when the teams meet at GM Place.

Anaheim (34-30-8) is trying to overcome a nine-point gap on Detroit for the final playoff position in the Western Conference with 10 games left.

The Ducks, who used a 10-2-1 season-ending stretch to reach the playoffs in 2008-09, were gaining momentum with a four-game winning streak. However, each game was at home and capped a 15-3-1 run there.

They haven't come close to matching that success on the road, going 11-19-5 to rank 12th in the West.

Anaheim's struggles on visiting ice continued Tuesday when its four-game winning streak was halted with a 3-1 loss to Calgary, one of the teams it is chasing in the standings.

"We're obviously pretty disappointed," said captain Scott Niedermayer, who scored against the Flames. "We know the position we're in each night. Those two points are what we need each night."

If the Ducks are going to make another late-season push to return to the playoffs for a fifth consecutive season, they'll need to solve their problems on the road quickly. They're playing six of their last 10 away, including visits to Colorado, Los Angeles, Dallas and St. Louis - four clubs vying for postseason position.

The Ducks have a chance to start that stretch in strong fashion. They've won four in a row against the Canucks (44-25-4), including two visits to Vancouver. They took the last meeting there 3-2 on Dec. 16.

Bobby Ryan, Anaheim's leader with 31 goals, has been a big reason for that success, totaling five goals and two assists in the last three matchups.

The Canucks lead the Northwest Division by five points over second-place Colorado, but failed to build on that advantage by losing 3-2 to NHL-worst Edmonton on Tuesday after falling 4-3 in overtime to the Red Wings on Saturday.

Roberto Luongo will likely be in net again looking for an improved effort after taking the blame for the defeat to the Oilers. He allowed three goals on 22 shots after making a season-high 50 saves Saturday.

"I made some good saves but unfortunately I should have had all three of their goals," said Luongo, who is 6-3-1 with a 3.20 goals-against average in 10 games since the Olympic break. "I've got to find some consistency in my game. It was a bad game every 12 games or so, but now it is every two or three games. I have to get my swagger back."

Luongo has a 3.84 GAA in losing his last three starts against Anaheim.

Henrik Sedin has three goals and 14 assists in 12 games this month, giving him a career-high 96 points. He is one point behind Washington's Alex Ovechkin for the league lead.

The center has two goals and seven assists in five home games against the Ducks.