Stars Beat Canucks 4-3, Snap 2-Game Skid

[January 30, 2008]  VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- Mike Modano and Stephane Robidas scored three minutes apart early in the second period, and Marty Turco made 29 saves, leading the Dallas Stars to a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night

Trevor Daley and Steve Ott also scored for the Stars, who ended a two-game losing streak to stay tied with the San Jose Sharks atop the Pacific Division.

Ott's short-handed goal 7:30 into the third period became the game winner when Ryan Kesler scored with 7:30 left for Vancouver and Markus Naslund added another with 1:20 left.

But the slumping Canucks didn't manage another shot and now have just one win in their last six games and two in their last nine.

Curtis Sanford started in goal for Vancouver while star stopper Roberto Luongo continued to spend time with his pregnant wife at their summer home in Florida. Sanford, playing his second game since Dec. 15, didn't last long.

Beaten from the goal line in the first period, Sanford was pulled after giving up another two goals - a 56-foot one-timer by Modano and Robidas' power-play point shot between his legs - just 4:31 into the second.

Playing in front of their 200th straight sellout crowd, a streak that dates back to Nov. 14, 2002, the Canucks, aided by a couple of power plays, jumped out to a 12-5 shot advantage through 15 minutes. But for the sixth-straight game they found themselves down 1-0 when Daley walked in alone along the goal line and had his shot deflected up and over Sanford with 4:06 left in the first period.

It was Daley's fist goal in 25 games and second all season.

Henrik Sedin tied it from the slot less than three minutes later, but Dallas took over with two goals early in the second, and Drew MacIntyre took over for Sanford, whose night ended with just eight saves.

MacIntyre, who didn't arrive from the AHL until sometime after the morning skate after playing in the AHL All-Star Game Monday night, only gave up Ott's short-handed goal 7:30 into the third.

Turco made a handful of highlight saves, including a point-blank stop off Taylor Pyatt in tight; a sliding, stacked-pads effort to take away an empty net from Mattias Ohlund on the power play; and a couple of against Daniel Sedin from close range. Kesler finally beat him from the slot with 8:50 left.

It was just the second time in Luongo s two seasons in Vancouver he didn't start a home game.

Luongo is expected to rejoin the team when its starts a four-game road trip in Tampa Bay on Thursday.

Notes: Canucks D Willie Mitchell missed his fourth straight game with a fractured vertebra. Mitchell, who played nine games after getting hit during a Dec. 27 game against Calgary, won't join the team for the start of an eastern road trip but according to coach Alain Vigneault could join the team during four games away. ... Dallas D Sergei Zubov missed his fifth game with a groin injury and isn't on the road trip. RW Jere Lehtinen, out since Nov. 21 after sports hernia surgery, is with the team and could return in either Edmonton on Friday or Calgary on Saturday.

[Associated Press]

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