In New Jersey, Canucks look to continue recent success

The Vancouver Canucks had a rough start to the season. After winning their first four games, they lost nine straight and were shut out four times in the process.

But as the Canucks prepare to take on the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night, there's much more hope than there was a month ago.

The Canucks are 7-4-1 in their past 12 games as the embark on a five-game trip that could push them closer to a playoff spot in the West. They are four points out of a wild-card spot, partly because of the weakened conference, but that doesn't matter to the players, who are finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

"We're getting wins every once in a while," Canucks center Bo Horvat said. "We need to put a string together. To lose a lot of games in a row and just win here and there is not good enough. We have to start winning more hockey games."

"Anybody can do it in this league," Canucks goaltender Ryan Miller said. "There are a lot of points out there to be had. We've got under 60 games, I guess. It's a lot of hockey. It's a lot of room to improve for us."

While the Canucks (11-12-2) have the benefit of playing in the NHL's worst division, the Devils (11-7-6) have fallen behind the pack thanks to some recent struggles.

The Devils rallied for a 5-4 win in Nashville on Saturday to snap a four-game slide, but they are a mere 2-4-3 in their past nine games. When the Devils can't find wins, usually it's because the offense can't find goals. But that hasn't been the case during their recent slump.

Cory Schneider, arguably the best goaltender in the league over the last few years, has allowed at least three goals in his past six starts. Through 18 games, Schneider has a .912 save percentage, which is 12 points below his career average.

"I think Cory Schneider's game, there's nothing to worry about here," Devils coach John Hynes told NJ.com. "Do we think he can play better? For sure. But we think that of a lot of our players. Cory Schneider has given us a chance to win games."

Schneider has a chance to right himself against his former team, who traded him to the Devils during the NHL draft in 2013.

"There are not many guys left who I played with; even the coaching staff is totally different," Schneider told NorthJersey.com. "But the staff there, the trainers and medical is still there, so it's good to see them. There are very few familiar faces. But there's still a lot of fond memories from there, so it's always a fun game to play."

Schneider has said he wants to be a goal better going forward. If he can start allowing two instead of three, the Devils can get back on sound footing.

"I think that's why he's so good because, overall as a goaltender, he's highly talented," Hynes told NorthJersey.com. "But he's got good self-awareness skills. He's always trying to improve; he wants to be better. He wants to win these games, for sure, as we all do."