• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Canucks look to cure road woes against Stars

Mar 24, 2009 - 2:28 AM By Jeff Mezydlo Stats Senior Writer

Vancouver (38-24-9) at Dallas (33-31-8), 8:30 p.m. EST

DALLAS (AP) -- The Vancouver Canucks need to improve their play on the road if they want to better their playoff position in the Western Conference standings.

The Dallas Stars, meanwhile, need to play better - regardless of location - just to reach the postseason.

The Canucks look to avoid a fifth straight road loss Tuesday night when they face the Stars, who are trying to snap a three-game overall losing streak.

Vancouver (38-24-9) is 16-4-1 since Feb. 3, but its recent play away from home has hindered its progression up the conference standings.

In the opener of a six-game road trip, the Canucks had their four-game winning streak snapped with a 5-1 loss at lowly Phoenix on Saturday. Vancouver, which is fifth in the West and two points behind Chicago in the race for home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs, is 16-13-5 away from home.

The Canucks, who play seven of their final 11 away from home, are 0-3-1 on the road since winning 3-2 at Toronto in a shootout on Feb. 21. They last suffered five straight road losses from Jan. 15-Feb. 5, 2008.

Vancouver, which is within reach of Northwest Division-leading Calgary and the No. 3 seed, plays four of its next five on the swing against teams in the playoff hunt.

"We haven't won on the road in our last four (games) and we're going to get some other opportunities to win on this trip and obviously we're going to have to play better," coach Alain Vigneault told the Canucks' official Web site.

The Canucks can start with a rare road win against Dallas. Vancouver is 1-1-1 versus the Stars (33-31-8) this season, including a 2-1 loss at Dallas on Feb. 13. The Canucks are 1-6-2 in Dallas since the start of the 2003-04 season.

Vancouver won 4-3 on March 15, 2008 for its lone victory over that stretch.

Despite their recent road struggles, the Canucks are facing a Dallas team that's coming off an 0-3-0 road trip after winning two straight at home. The Stars open a three-game homestand before playing five of their final seven on the road.

The Stars, who are 12th in the West and three points behind Nashville for the eighth and final playoff spot, lost 5-2 at San Jose on Saturday.

"We need to keep pushing," said defenseman Stephane Robidas, who scored for the Stars. "We have 10 games left and we can't give up."

Dallas will be without star forward Brad Richards indefinitely after he broke his hand Saturday in his first game back from missing 15 with a broken wrist.

Loui Eriksson continued his breakout season with his 33rd goal Saturday and has one with two assists versus Vancouver in 2008-09.

Marty Turco made 25 saves against the Sharks and has allowed 10 goals in his last three starts. He is 17-5-1 with a 1.82 GAA lifetime versus Vancouver.

Roberto Luongo was pulled after allowing three goals in two periods Saturday for Vancouver, which yielded one fewer to Phoenix than it did in its previous four games.

"I think a game like (Saturday) is really one that you just put behind you," said Luongo, who is 27-10-6 with a 2.40 GAA this season and 7-4-2 with a 2.02 GAA against Dallas.

Mats Sundin and Ryan Kesler each had a goal with an assist in Vancouver's 4-2 win over Dallas last Tuesday.