In Roberto they may soon trust.

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Roberto Luongo skated with goaltender coach Ian Clark on Monday morning and coach Alain Vigneault hinted that the Canucks starter may be close to recovering from a hairline fracture of a rib on his left side. Luongo suffered the ailment absorbing a Niklas Hagman sharp-angle shot against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 24.

The Canucks leave Wednesday for a five-game road trip and Luongo could see some action at some point.

"Anybody that comes on that trip is going to be someone who has a chance to play and I think Louie might have a chance somewhere," said Vigneault. "We'll see how it goes in the next couple of days."

Grabner's ankle

Vigneault isn't a doctor, but his father was. And as much as Vigneault didn't want to offer a diagnosis Monday on the severity of an ankle injury suffered by Michael Grabner in a pregame hallway warmup Sunday at GM Place, he suggested the rookie winger may have torn ankle ligaments from a soccer-game scrum.

"Just from the colour of his ankle that I saw," said Vigneault. "He went and got an MRI [Monday morning] and I don't know the result of it yet. He did it [injury] in the warmup and I'm not sure whether it was soccer-oriented or what. To tell you the truth, I didn't ask. He just rolled on it."

Vigneault said he wouldn't put a ban on traditional pregame soccer in the hallway.

Bliznak's trust

Mario Bliznak knows he'll play with Darcy Hordichuk and Matt Pettinger tonight because of injuries, but there was a time when the centre wasn't expected to develop as a Canucks prospect. Credit Don Hay for honing Bliznak's game with the WHL's Vancouver GIants. And credit the AHL's Manitoba Moose for seeing potential in the 205th pick of the 2005 entry draft.

"Everybody thought I was just a defensive player and can't play any offence, but I think I stepped up my game in Manitoba and played good two-way hockey," said Bliznak, 22, the first Canucks pick from the Giants to play an NHL regular-season game for Vancouver.

"You have to make sure all the time that you are in position, especially in the defensive zone and try not to turn pucks over. And the best way to shut down the other team's offence is to play in their zone."

Hay believes that Bliznak's play without the puck might be his ticket to NHL longevity one day.

"You can make an impact quicker by playing defence than offence," said Hay. "He's a guy coaches really trust once they get to work with him."