Five-Game Trip May Be a Defining Moment

Although the NHL season is only two weeks old, the Mighty Ducks will start what may be the most important trip of the season tonight at Vancouver.

Five games in a week in cities where they have gone winless over the last two years.

Starting at Vancouver, where the Canucks have won six in a row over the Ducks at General Motors Place, Anaheim will play at Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal and Boston. The Ducks have not won on the road against the Oilers since Feb. 24, 1999, and they’ve lost their last five games combined at Toronto and Montreal.

Anaheim’s most recent win on the road against any of their opponents on this trip was Jan. 31, 2000, against the Bruins. Which only makes the next week more difficult for the 2-3-1 Ducks.

“The start of the season has pretty much gone as expected because we have so many new faces and a new coaching staff,” defenseman Keith Carney said. “We’re still trying to find our style of hockey.

“We can use this road trip as a scale to see where we’re at. It’s a good time for us as a team to be out on the road and focus on our game.”

Since the start of the season, first-year Coach Mike Babcock has juggled his forward lines nearly every game in an attempt to find the right mix. But after the Ducks’ strong effort against Colorado on Sunday, Babcock will stick with the same combinations.

Paul Kariya will skate with Steve Rucchin and Mike Leclerc; Adam Oates will team with Alexei Smirnov and Petr Sykora; Andy McDonald will line up with Matt Cullen and Stanislav Chistov; and Dan Bylsma, Marc Chouinard and Kevin Sawyer will make up the checking line.

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The Ducks traded defenseman Jason York to Nashville for future considerations Wednesday. York, 32, played last season with the Ducks but was assigned to Cincinnati of the American Hockey League before the start of this season. York had three goals and five points in four games with Cincinnati.

The Ducks will pick up a portion of York’s contract, which will pay him $4 million over the next two seasons.

TONIGHT

at Vancouver, 7

Fox Sports Net 2

Site -- General Motors Place.

Radio -- KPLS (830).

Records -- Ducks 2-3-1-0, Canucks 3-2-2-0.

Record vs. Canucks -- 0-0-1-0.

Update -- Anaheim blew a late lead and had to settle for a 2-2 tie against Vancouver last week. The Ducks will start first-year goaltender Martin Gerber, who stopped 22 shots in his first NHL start against the Avalanche. Kariya has a four-game point streak, and McDonald leads the Ducks in scoring with two goals and six points. Before the Ducks’ morning skate today, Kariya will be presented with his ring for being part of Canada’s gold medal-winning Olympic team.