Schneider gets back-to-back starts for Canucks

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Cory Schneider will get a chance to build a little momentum Saturday night when he makes his second-straight start playing host to the Calgary Flames.

Schneider, who came into the season as the new No. 1 after taking over from Roberto Luongo early in the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, watched Luongo start – and excel in – four straight games before making 22 saves Thursday in a 4-1 win at the Minnesota Wild.

"I've always liked to get in a rhythm and tonight is another opportunity to do that," said Schneider, who went 10 days between starts. "I don't change anything regardless of who I am playing, or how long it's been, it all stays the same. I think that's part of staying consistent is doing the same things over and over again that give you success. If you get out of those patterns you see differences in your game."

Schneider's game has looked solid since an opening-night stumble when pulled after five goals on 14 shots. He's won three of four starts while posting a .939 save percentage since.

Despite that, he watched Luongo, who still expects to be traded, go 3-0-1 in four straight starts, lowering his goals-against average to 1.53 and raising his save percentage to .940 for the season.

Schneider has a 2.66 GAA and .908 save percentage overall, which includes a 3-2 shootout win over Calgary on Jan. 23.

"So much can change game to game, you can shut a team out one night and give up six the next night," Schneider said. "So you can't put too much stock what they looked like two weeks ago."

Here how the 6-2-2 Canucks should look as they try to extend their win streak to five games against a Calgary team that has won two straight despite a rash of injuries to key players:

Daniel Sedin – Henrik Sedin – Alexandre Burrows

Mason Raymond – Jordan Schroeder – Jannik Hansen

Zack Kassian – Maxim Lapierre – Chris Higgins

Aaron Volpatti – Manny Malhotra – Dale Weise

Dan Hamhuis – Alexander Edler

Jason Garrison – Kevin Bieksa

Keith Ballard – Chris Tanev

Cory Schneider

Roberto Luongo

Injured: Ryan Kesler, David Booth

Scratched: Andrew Ebbett, Andrew Alberts, Cam Barker

Notes: Booth, who was expected to miss four to six weeks after injuring his groin in preseason physical testing, joined the team for practice for the first time Saturday morning but has no timeline for a return. Kesler, who had shoulder and wrist surgeries, rejoined the team last week, but also remains uncertain of a return date.