• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Canucks battle sliding Leafs in Toronto

Nov 13, 2010 - 4:04 PM (Sports Network) - Two teams heading in opposite directions square off this evening as the Toronto Maple Leafs hope to avoid an eighth straight loss against a Vancouver Canucks club that has won seven of its last eight games.

The Maple Leafs begin a three-game homestand at Air Canada Centre tonight riding their longest losing streak since beginning last season 0-7-1. Toronto has dropped 10 of 11 since starting out 4-0.

The club fell to 0-5-2 with Wednesday's 4-1 setback to Florida. Mikhail Grabovski scored the only goal and Jonas Gustavsson gave up all four goals on 28 shots.

"We're getting enough shots and getting enough scoring chances," said Toronto head coach Ron Wilson. "It starts to get into your head and you start squeezing your sticks. We've got to figure things out here."

Toronto hasn't won since Oct. 26 and has been held to two goals or less in six games during its slide, getting shut out three times. Center Phil Kessel has seven goals on the season but has failed to notch a point in any game of his club's losing streak.

The Leafs shook up their roster on Friday, calling up forward Nazem Kadri and defenseman Keith Aulie from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.

Kadri, the seventh overall pick of the 2009 draft, had 14 points in 14 games with the Marlies this year, while Aulie had three points in 14 games. The blueliner was acquired along with injured captain Dion Phaneuf from the Flames in January.

Also working against the Maple Leafs tonight is the fact that they have lost six straight overall and three in a row at home to the Canucks. Toronto hasn't bested Vancouver since a home win on Nov. 24, 2003.

After having a six-game winning streak halted on Tuesday in Montreal, Vancouver bounced back with a 6-2 triumph at Ottawa on Thursday. Alex Burrows scored his first goal of the season and Ryan Kesler added his second of the game during a 71-second span in the third period to break the game open.

Burrows, Daniel Sedin and Tanner Glass all finished with a goal and an assist and Henrik Sedin had two assists to give him 16 on the season. Henrik has notched a point in all but two of his 15 games this year.

"In the first we didn't play good enough, but we got it together in the second," said Kesler after 12 different Canucks skaters recorded a point. "If we don't have different guys scoring for us we're never gonna have success."

Mario Bliznak posted his first career tally and Roberto Luongo made 33 saves to help head coach Alain Vigneault record his 300th career coaching victory.

Vancouver has split the first two games of a five-game swing and is 3-4-1 as the visiting club this year.