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Canucks look to begin road trip on good note

Nov 17, 2008 - 2:27 PM Vancouver (10-6-1) at NY Islanders (6-9-2), 7:00 pm EST

UNIONDALE, New York (Ticker) -- The Vancouver Canucks have enjoyed plenty of success at home. They hope to do the same away from the confines of General Motors Place.

Looking for their fifth win in six games, the Canucks open a four-game road trip against the lowly New York Islanders on Monday.

Vancouver defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-2, on Saturday to conclude its six-game homestand with a 4-1-1 record.

The Canucks, however, will look to carry that success over to the road, where they will play 11 of their next 13 contests.

Roberto Luongo has started 12 consecutive games and posted three straight shutouts in that span. Since yielding six goals in a 7-6 win over the Anaheim Ducks on October 31 - the last time the Canucks played on the road - Luongo has given up just six goals in as many games.

The 29-year-old Luongo is 10-5-1 with a 2.22 goals-against average. He could, however, be rested in favor of Curtis Sanford, who dropped a 5-2 decision to the Buffalo Sabres on October 17 in his lone start this season.

New York has won two games in a row after dropping nine of its previous 11 thanks to a home-and-home sweep of the Ottawa Senators on Thursday and Saturday.

Goaltender Joey MacDonald has become a workhorse for the Islanders, starting seven consecutive games. The 28-year-old has played in 14 contests this season in the wake of Rick DiPietro's knee injury and has gone 6-6-2 with a 2.82 GAA.

The Islanders have struggled converting on the power play lately, going 3-for-22 in the last four contests.