"The Vancouver Canucks sit last in road wins and road points in the NHL but here's the good news: they'll have a Burr in their saddle tonight against the Edmonton Oilers.

Forward Alex Burrows, who scored 35 times last season, will return to the lineup five months after having major shoulder surgery to repair two labrum tears. Perhaps he'll be the spark the Canucks need to get their road game going. They're 0-3-1 away from Rogers Arena and have been outscored 15-7.

"It's been a long time since I played a game [May 11] so obviously I'm really looking forward to it," Burrows said Monday before the Canucks blanked the New Jersey Devils 3-0. "I haven't been involved in any kind of game or scrimmage, or that kind of stuff, in a long time. It will be pretty nice to get back in the lineup and try to help the team win. It should be fun."

Burrows admitted his left shoulder was bugging him as far back as last February. He didn't miss a game but was ineffective come playoff time. When told he required post-season surgery, he went for a second opinion. All that did was confirm the grim first diagnosis.

"It was disappointing when they told me 4-6 months," said Burrows, 29. "I didn't think it would be that long. That's a long period. There was no golf for me in the summer and I spent a lot of time in the gym and physio room. It wasn't the most fun but people took care of me and I enjoyed working with them."

Burrows wasn't certain where he would be inserted against the Oilers, whether he would go right back to his usual spot alongside the Sedin twins or be eased in lower down the lineup. After missing 10 games, he wasn't about to make any declarations about how he should be deployed. He had been practising with Ryan Kesler and Mikael Samuelsson but that was only due to Mason Raymond's sore hand."