Music: {allcanada} Schneider set to prove self in Thursday's game

Thursday, November 4, 2010

{allcanada} Schneider set to prove self in Thursday's game

Alex Burrows had an understated but encouraging return to the Canucks lineup on Tuesday in Edmonton.

It's something he hopes to build on Thursday night in Colorado when the Canucks go after their fifth straight win.

He had three shots on goal, two misses, a takeaway and a glorious chance that went into the pads of Oilers goalie Nikolai Khabibulin (notes) early in the game.

He appeared not to skip a beat in terms of his penalty killing prowess, but looked a little ways a way from game shape with his usual linemates, Henrik and Daniel Sedin (notes).

"I thought for his first game back he was good,' said Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault. "I thought he had good jump, he wasn't trying to do too much. I think the twins had good pop in their legs and they were finding their teammate who they had a lot of success with. He had a couple of whacks in front of the net and he cycled with them. I think it can only get better."

Burrows, of course, was back after having shoulder surgery last June to repair two labrum tears. He missed the first 10 games of the season – one of the byproducts of his being put on Long Term Injury Reserve – and it's never easy to play catch-up no matter how hard you've been working in the gym or on the ice in a practice. The surgical repair had an estimated return to action of four to six months.

Burrows' return was five months later, almost to the day.

"Not great, not right away," said Burrows, assessing his first game back. "I just wanted to stay composed and keep my shifts pretty short and keep it simple. It's going to take a couple of games for me to come back to a good game, but I'm looking forward to it."

Burrows' return could be just the tonic for the Canucks on a few fronts. He obviously helps their penalty kill right away and his presence should make Danny and Hank that much more dangerous.

"I was surprised at how good he was," said Henrik. "I thought he kept his shifts short. We had a few shifts where we could feel the chemistry back. It's going to take a while. He's been missing a lot of games. But it felt good right away. The small plays we make with each other were there so I'm happy."

Meanwhile, the Canucks will start rookie goaltender Cory Schneider (notes) on Thursday night in Denver when they take on the Avalanche. Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault confirmed the decision before the Canucks left Edmonton on Wednesday en route to the Colorado city.

Schneider has had an excellent start to his first full NHL season, with wins in both of his starts (2-0-0). He also relieved No. 1 Roberto Luongo (notes) for the third period of a 6-2 loss in Minnesota on Oct. 19, giving up no goals.

He has an eye-popping goals against average of 0.86 and a save percentage of .968.

Schneider has been given what might be considered "soft" starts – against Carolina and Minnesota – but the game against Colorado will be anything but.

The Avs are coming off a four-day break and have won two straight since losing 4-3 in OT to the Canucks on Nov. 26.

Luongo has started and won the last three games. His GAA is 2.61 and his save

pecentage is .915.

Facing the Avalanche Wednesday night in Denver, would be a good time to get used to winning on the road.

The Canucks, who won for the first time on the road this early season in Edmonton on Tuesday, are still just 1-3-1 and will head off on Sunday for a tough five-game trip to the East.

"We're above .500 right now (6-3-2) and we have to keep it there," said Canucks' captain Henrik Sedin (notes). "It's easy to fall back and we don't want to be (just) a .500 team after 20 games. We need to have a push here. That's what good teams do, they put together strings of six or seven wins and that's what we have to do."