ATLANTA (AP) - Roberto Luongo stopped 30 shots and the Vancouver Canucks set franchise records for road wins and points in a season, beating the Atlanta Thrashers 3-1 on Friday night.
Mason Raymond and Alexandre Bolduc scored second-period goals for the Canucks, who have won nine of 10 to improve the NHL’s best record. Alexandre Burrows added an empty-net goal with 13 seconds remaining.
The Canucks earned their franchise-record 24th road win and set another team high with 107 points. They have won seven straight road games.
Bryan Little ended Luongo’s shutout bid with an unassisted goal with 5:30 remaining in the third period.
The Thrashers, 11th in the Eastern Conference, suffered another blow to their fading playoff hopes.
Luongo broke a tie for the NHL lead with his 35th victory. He posted his 55th career shutout and fourth of the season.
Atlanta’s Chris Mason stopped 23 shots but managed to only partially deflect Raymond’s shot from the right circle early in the second period to snap a scoreless tie. At 12:24 of the period, Bolduc’s shot from the bottom of the right circle sailed just past Mason’s glove into the net to give Vancouver a 2-0 lead.
The Canucks are 35-0-3 when leading after two periods. Little gave Atlanta hope in the third final period when he broke free down the center of the ice and pushed the puck just past Luongo’s reach.
Atlanta’s last hope came when Vancouver’s Sami Solo was penalized for tripping with 16.2 seconds remaining. The Thrashers had no chance to take advantage of its two-man advantage when Burrows cleared the puck into the empty net.
Vancouver’s Daniel Sedin, the NHL’s leader with 95 points, had his scoring streak end at nine games.
The Canucks’ previous high was 23 road wins in the 2002-03 and 2006-07 seasons. Their previous team record for points in a season was 105 in 2006-07.
The Thrashers lead the league with only one shutout loss.
NOTES: Mason started for the second straight night after making 14 saves in a 2-1 win at the New York Islanders on Thursday night. … Mason blocked a penalty shot by Sedin in the first period following a tripping penalty against Ron Hainsey on a breakaway. … The Canucks have won four of their six visits to Atlanta.
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