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Canucks collide with Calgary

Nov 1, 2011 - 2:51 PM (Sports Network) - The Vancouver Canucks found their scoring touch last time out. That could spell continued trouble for the Calgary Flames.

The Canucks try to extend a 10-game series point streak over the Flames, who conclude their longest homestand of the season tonight looking for a third straight victory.

The defending Western Conference champion Canucks had netted only five goals in their previous 10 games prior to exploding in a 7-4 victory over the Capitals. Vancouver set a season high for goals scored in a game and avoided a third straight loss after getting shut out for the third time this season last Wednesday versus the Blues.

Henrik Sedin notched the game-winner early in the third period to highlight an offensive surge from a handful of unlikely sources. Defenseman Alex Edler scored his first two goals of the season to go along with an assist, while Chris Higgins and Maxim Lapierre each scored their second goal of the game in the third period.

Roberto Luongo stopped 28-of-32 shots for the win, which also featured David Booth's first point with the Canucks. He had an assist in his third game since being acquired from the Panthers.

"We know that the offensive talent is in this locker room," Luongo said. "We're not going to score seven every game and sometimes you are going to get shut out, but if we stay with it and stick to our principles we're going to get rewarded more often than not."

Vancouver begins a six-game road trip tonight, tied for its longest of the season, and looks to continue its recent success over Calgary. The Canucks are 8-0-2 in the previous 10 meetings and have won their last four games as the road team in this series.

The Flames will try to contain the Canucks' offense tonight to conclude what has thus far been a solid homestand. Calgary moved to 3-1-1 on the residency with a victory over the Blues on Friday, pushing their season record to 4-4-1.

Youngster Roman Horak logged his second straight two-point game in the 3-1 win. He netted his first NHL goal in a win over the Avalanche on Wednesday before posting a goal and an assist in Friday's triumph.

"He's really stepped up. He's playing with confidence and he's scoring right now," forward Tom Kostopoulos said of Horak. "It's nice to see. We all knew he was talented, but to see him play with that confidence is really good."

Kostopoulos and Olli Jokinen also scored in the victory and Miikka Kiprusoff ended with 28 saves for the Flames, who won their second straight.

"It wasn't one of our games where everything was as sharp as you want it to be, but the hockey gods get even too," said Calgary head coach Brent Sutter. "We found a way to win and that's what's most important. Our goal today was to get back to .500 and that's what we did."

It was also the second game in a row that the Flames dressed 11 forwards and seven defenseman, but defenseman Anton Babchuk rotated in and out during Monday's practice, meaning Calgary could go back to 12 forwards tonight.