CANUCKS (12-7-3) at FLAMES (10-12-2)

TV -- TSN (HD)

Last 10 -- Vancouver 5-4-1; Calgary 3-5-2

Season series -- This is the first of six meetings between the Northwest Division rivals. Last season, the Flames and Canucks split their six-game series.

Big story -- After dropping four in a row, the Canucks are looking to extend their winning streak to three games. Meanwhile, the struggling Flames have taken two of three after dropping six of seven.
 
Team Scope:

Game Day Media Notes

Canucks -- Slowly getting it turned around following a four-game slide, the Canucks exploded for a 6-1 victory against the San Jose Sharks on Friday. The well-rested Canucks used a balanced attack in that game, getting goals from every line.

"We got away from it but are on the right track again," said Mikael Samuelsson, who scored 2 goals in the victory. "I said it since I came here -- you win with all four lines. Look at other teams that win something, and it's the third and fourth lines that keep coming at you."

Flames -- One reason for optimism has been the recent play of Miikka Kiprusoff. In his last four games, he's stopped 127 of 134 shots, good for a .948 save percentage. On Monday, Kiprusoff stopped all 32 shots in the Flames' 3-0 win against the Minnesota Wild.

"We know what we have with Kipper," said defenseman Jay Bouwmeester. "Even though we've lost some games, he's kept us in there. It's the same old story with him. ... He's been pretty lights out lately."

Who's hot -- Canucks left wing Alexandre Burrows has 2 goals and 2 assists in his last three games. … Flames left wing Alex Tanguay has 4 assists in his last three games.

Injury report -- Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa is battling pneumonia, so he could miss this game. … The Flames have no new injuries of note.

Stat pack -- The Canucks are fourth in the NHL in penalty killing at 86.9 percent. In the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs, they killed off just 68.5 percent of penalties. … Bouwmeester is the NHL's current iron man at 448 consecutive games played.

Puck drop -- "We were not happy after that last game on the road trip. We know we have to work harder. Today, we were a hard-working team. This was a good game and a big two points." -- Miikka Kiprusoff, talking about his team bouncing back against the Wild after a 4-1 loss in Pittsburgh in the Flames' previous game.