• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Western Conference powers square off in Vancouver

Dec 20, 2007 - 2:25 PM Dallas (19-11-4) at Vancouver (18-12-4) 10:00 pm EST

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Ticker) - The red-hot Dallas Stars have shaken off a slow start and are beginning to assert themselves in the Pacific Division.

The Stars will be looking for their fifth straight win when they visit the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday - the first meeting between the teams since last season's Western Conference playoffs.

Dallas' line of center Mike Ribeiro, left wing Brenden Morrow and right wing Antii Miettenen has combined to score nine goals in the past four games, lifting the club into first place in the Pacific for the first time this season.

If history is any indicator, the goaltending matchup could be classic.

Dallas goaltender Marty Turco owns a 12-2-1 record and a 1.52 goals-against average against Vancouver in 15 career regular season starts.

In last season's opening-round playoff series between the squads, Vancouver won in seven games behind netminder Roberto Luongo, who posted a 1.41 GAA in that series.

Behind a 32-save effort from Luongo on Tuesday, the Canucks earned a 5-0 win over the New Jersey Devils. Luongo, who had missed the previous three games with a rib injury, has five shutouts this season.