• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

LaBarbera, Canucks shooting for back-to-back wins

Jan 2, 2009 - 2:01 PM Vancouver (21-15-3) at Atlanta (12-21-5) 7:30 p.m. EST

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- A repeat performance by Jason LaBarbera will go a long way in helping the Vancouver Canucks win consecutive games for the first time in more than two weeks.

The new Canucks goaltender is expected to be in net again when Vancouver faces the Atlanta Thrashers on Friday.

LaBarbera, who joined Vancouver late Tuesday in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings, made 31 saves in a 2-1 win over the Nashville Predators Thursday.

With All-Star netminder Roberto Luongo and Curtis Sanford sidelined with injuries, the Canucks acquired LaBarbera in exchange for a seventh-round draft pick in 2009.

"I wanted to establish my position because I've had tough luck against Nashville in the past so it was good for me to get that win against them," said LaBarbera, a native of the Vancouver suburb of Burnaby. "When the buzzer went off at the end of the game, it was pretty amazing for me."

The Canucks are 3-4-0 in their last seven and have not won back-to-back games since wins over Florida and Edmonton in mid-December.

Atlanta has lost four straight games, including a 3-1 defeat to Carolina Wednesday. Ilya Kovalchuk recorded his team-leading 37th point with the first goal of the game.

Kari Lehtonen and Johan Hedberg have alternated the last four games in net. Hedberg stopped 43 shots in an overtime loss to the Maple Leafs on Tuesday while Lehtonen gave up three unanswered goals against the Hurricanes.