The Vancouver Canucks look to continue their winning ways — and their success against division foes — when they host the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET).
Though they started sluggishly, Vancouver (8-8-0) has rattled off a season-best three consecutive wins to return its record to .500 for the first time since Oct 21.
Daniel Sedin, right, leads the Canucks in scoring, but it was his twin brother Henrik who made the difference in Vancouver's most recent victory.
(Jeff McIntosh/Canadian Press)
The Canucks have managed to remain afloat by beating up on the rest of the Northwest. Vancouver is 6-0-0 against divisional opponents, but just 2-8-0 against the rest of the NHL.
That Northwest success has come against teams both weak and strong. Though they're seven points behind division-leading Colorado, the Canucks have beaten the Avalanche twice, including a 2-1 overtime win Friday.
Vancouver hasn't gone easy on last-place Edmonton either, taking seven straight against the Oilers, including a home-and-home series on Oct. 13-14. The Canucks' Roberto Luongo has been in goal in each game during the streak, and has limited the Oilers to two goals or fewer in six of those victories.
Henrik Sedin, Vancouver's second-leading scorer with 15 points, had both goals in Friday's win over Colorado at GM Place. On the winner, his pass intended for twin brother Daniel, the leading scorer with 16 points, deflected off Avalanche defenceman Kurt Sauer and past goaltender Jose Theodore.
"Most of them are ugly. I don't think I've scored from further out than 10 feet," Henrik said. "The second one was supposed to be a pass."
Garon looks sharp
Edmonton (6-10-1) won at Calgary 4-2 on Saturday, the Oilers' first victory since beating defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim 3-2 on Oct. 28. They've given up 57 goals, among the worst in the Western Conference, but their power play has been a bigger issue.
Edmonton has gone just 7-for-70 with a man-advantage this season with two of those goals coming against the Flames, the worst penalty-killing team in the conference.
Backup goalie Mathieu Garon, who made 37 saves for his third win this season, has been in net for Edmonton's last two wins. Veteran Dwayne Roloson, the team's opening-night netminder, has gone 3-8-1 with a 3.14 goals-against average so far this season.
"I felt like he was ready to play and I like the way he has been playing and he played very well tonight again," said Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish. "He made a couple real game-breaking saves in the hockey game. The game could have gone either way."
On Tuesday, the Oilers recalled goaltender Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers from Springfield of the American Hockey League.
Centre Shawn Horcoff, who leads the Oilers with seven goals and nine assists, scored twice in the win over Calgary. He has three goals and two assists during his current four-game points streak on the road.
The Oilers are 3-6-1 in road games this season, while the Canucks are just 2-6-0 at GM Place.
With files from the Associated PressRelated
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