(Best E Casino) - A pair of Northwest Division rivals will tangle tonight in British Columbia, as the streaking Vancouver Canucks welcome the Calgary Flames to General Motors Place for the opener of a home-and-home series.

Vancouver is 2-0 against the Flames this year, winning a test on the road and in Calgary to begin the six-game season series between the clubs. The Canucks have won three of four and seven of the last 10 meetings and Calgary has lost four of five and six of eight in Vancouver.

The Canucks, who lead the Northwest with 30 points, have won four straight games, but had their spirits dampened by some recent injury news as two-time All-Star, franchise goaltender and team captain Roberto Luongo is out indefinitely due to a groin strain.

Luongo suffered the injury this past Saturday in Pittsburgh, crumpling to the ice following a save early in the first period of a win over the Penguins. He had to be helped off the ice by teammates and is being termed week-to-week.

Luongo has a league-best five shutouts on the season and posted a career-best 242 minute and 36 second shutout streak earlier this year. The 29-year-old is 11-5-2 on the season with a 2.17 goals against average.

Vancouver won its first full game without Luongo, as it notched an overtime victory over the defending Stanley Cup champions on Monday. Sami Salo's OT tally lifted the Canucks to a 3-2 victory over the visiting Detroit Red Wings.

Curtis Sanford did an excellent job in Luongo's absence, stopping 32-of-34 shots to improve his record to 3-1-0 this season.

Daniel Sedin and Taylor Pyatt scored in regulation for the Canucks and Salo also recorded an assist on Sedin's tally late in the third to tie the game.

Sedin and teammate Pavol Demitra each bring six-game point streaks into tonight's contest. Sedin has five goals and four assists during the run, while Demitra, who assisted on the game-winner, has five tallies and five helpers over his streak.

In other injury news for Vancouver, center Ryan Johnson is expected to miss the next three-to-five weeks with a broken finger on his right hand and a broken bone on his left foot. Johnson has just one goal and two assists in 22 games this year, but is a valuable part of the Canucks penalty kill unit.

Calgary, meanwhile, has won three of its last four games and is coming off Tuesday's blowout victory over visiting Los Angeles. Rene Bourque recorded his first two-goal game as a member of the Flames and Miikka Kiprusoff made 23 saves, as the Flames breezed past the Kings, 6-2, at the Saddledome.

Mike Cammalleri, Jarome Iginla, Curtis Glencross and David Moss also scored for Calgary, which rebounded from a 5-2 home loss to Detroit on Saturday and won for the fourth time in its last six games overall.

Craig Conroy posted three assists in the win to give him 12 points (3 goals, 9 assists) on the season.

The Canucks are 7-2-1 at home this season, while the Flames are 4-6-0 as the visiting team. The clubs are scheduled to cap the home-and-home set Saturday night in Calgary.