The Canadian Press, Nov 10, 2011

The Vancouver Canucks are nearing the end of a six-game road trip during which they've been inconsistent on offence. After busting out in their most recent victory, the Canucks look to stay hot Thursday night when they face the Los Angeles Kings, who have been dealing with their own struggles to score.

Vancouver (7-7-1) has split the first four games of its trip after going 5 for 6 on the power play in a 6-2 victory Sunday in Chicago. Combined with a win over Calgary to begin the trip Nov. 1, Vancouver has outscored its opponents 11-3 in victories while being outscored 8-3 in losses to Minnesota and St. Louis.

The Canucks hadn't scored five times with the man advantage since going 5 for 10 in a 6-1 win over Toronto on Jan. 13, 2007. Vancouver, however, has been outscored 10-6 while at even strength on the trip, which ends Friday in Anaheim.

"We haven't been good enough 5-on-5 to win games," said Canucks captain Henrik Sedin, who had a goal and three assists against Chicago.

"But if we play good 5-on-5, our special teams will take care of us most games."

Vancouver, which boasts one of the NHL's top power-play units (26.4 per cent), is 7-2-1 in its last 10 regular-season meetings with Los Angeles, which snapped an 0-3-2 slide with a 4-3 win over Nashville on Tuesday.

The Kings (7-5-3) had scored two goals or fewer in each game during their skid before beginning their four-game homestand on a positive note. Mike Richards scored the go-ahead goal followed by Simon Gagne's game-winner in the second period.

"They come to the rink every day and they're in their own little sanctuary," Kings head coach Terry Murray said of Richards and Gagne, who are each in their first year with Los Angeles.

"They're good teammates and they're learning to be a member of the team. They're also learning the system and style and the culture that we're putting together here."

Richards is scoreless in his last three games against the Canucks, while Gagne has five goals and five assists in nine career meetings with Vancouver.

Backup Jonathan Bernier made 27 saves against Nashville while giving Jonathan Quick a night off. Quick is 3-6-1 lifetime in the regular season against the Canucks, but he has a solid 2.08 goals-against average.

If he starts Thursday, he could be in for a tough night against the Sedins, who share Vancouver's scoring lead with 18 points each. Daniel has scored a goal in each of his last three games against the Kings, also adding an assist in the Canucks' 3-1 win March 31.

Henrik had his seven-game point streak versus Los Angeles snapped in that matchup, though he'll look to begin a new streak coming off his career high-tying four-point performance against Chicago.

Roberto Luongo made 38 saves Sunday to improve to 3-1-0 with a 2.51 GAA in his last four starts. He's 6-2-1 with a 2.09 GAA in his last nine regular-season starts versus Los Angeles. The Kings are 3-1-1 in the last five regular-season meetings at Staples Center.