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Preview: Playoff rivals renew hostilities as Canucks visit Blues
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(AP Photo/Tom Olmscheid)
Playing their third game on this current five-game road trip, the Vancouver Canucks (10-8-0) hope a return to the site of their greatest triumph from the 2008.09 season will spark them to a victory tonight over the St. Louis Blues (5-6-4).
On a night the Canucks were out-shot, out-hustled, and clearly out-played, their 2-1 loss to the Dallas Stars might have been much easier to stomach had it not been for an apparent blown call by the NHL war room in Toronto that cost the Canucks a chance to stage a third period comeback.
With the Canucks trailing 2-0 in the final frame, Henrik Sedin appeared to cut the deficit in half after jamming a loose puck in the crease past Stars' netminder Marty Turco. But after the on-ice officials deemed to have lost sight of the puck, the call was deferred to the NHL's Toronto offices that then, after a lengthy review, opted to disallow the goal despite no sensible reason being offered. While the Canucks did eventually pull within one goal, they were unable to find the equalizer marker and saw their three-game win streak come to an end while their record on the current five-game road trip fall to 1-1-0.
The Canucks now hit the midway point of their trip with their first visit of the season to the Scottrade Center - a building that provided plenty of great memories for the Canucks last season, most notably being the place where they completed their first ever playoff sweep of an opponent in franchise history back on April 21st. The Canucks not only face a Blues team that has been struggling, but they may get to do so with reinforcements on the way. Roberto Luongo, Daniel Sedin, and Steve Bernier all took part in recent team practices on Sunday and/or Monday with Bernier and Luongo expected to re-join the lineup tonight versus the Blues.
For the complete Canucks.com Tale of the Tape game preview, including a scouting report on the Blues, players to watch and key statistics, visit the Canucks.com Game Notes page.
For breaking news on the Canucks throughout the day leading into tonight's game, visit Canucks.com.
