The Vancouver Canucks will look to extend their winning streak to seven games when they take on the Dallas Stars.
There is no news on whether Roberto Luongo or Cory Schneider will get the call in goal, but one piece of lineup information is secure. Ryan Kesler will make his season debut for Vancouver on Friday night. "I flipped [coach Alain Vigneault's] coin and it said I'm playing," Kesler said.
Kesler scored 22 goals and 27 assists in 2011-12 but underwent surgeries on his wrist and shoulder in the off-season. Back in 2010-11 he scored 41 goals and 32 assists.
The return of Kesler adds another major weapon to the Canucks who are on a six game winning streak. In their most recent victory Luongo made 25 saves en route to his fourth win of the season; the netminder has not lost in regulation all year. "They're making a lot of key saves for us when we're down or in tight games," Vancouver forward Hansen said about his netminders.
The Canucks will take on a Dallas team that saw its four game winning streak come to an end in a disastrous manner. The Stars were blown out 7-4 by the Calgary Flames in a game that featured a hat trick from Calgary's Mike Cammalleri.
"I don't know if we weren't ready as much as we weren't ready to compete," said Stars Head Coach Glen Gulutzan after the loss. "We were soft in the beginning, soft with our sticks, soft with our play. We weren't ready. I thought (the Flames) played a solid game, but I didn't think they came guns a'blazin'. I thought we were just soft."
This is the first meeting between the two clubs. According to NHL.com, the Canucks have a record of 11-2-1 in their last 14 against Dallas and have outscored them 51-29.
Predictions: Vancouver's win streak will not go on forever, but I think that it extends beyond seven games. 4-1 Vancouver.
Start Time; 10 PM EST
TV: FS-Southwest, SNET-Pacific