For the Vancouver Canucks, it’s one down and 13 to go.

As their building is being gussied up for the Winter Olympics, the Canucks didn't exactly begin their lengthy 14-game road trip on the right skate. But they managed to overcome a three-goal deficit for a 5-3 win against the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday.

"It's not as big a deal as people want to make out of it," said Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault when asked about the road trip after his team extended its win streak to seven games. "We travel a lot and really this is two road trips: eight [before the Olympics] and six [after the Winter Games].

"We're out to prove that we can play both at home and on the road."

The Canucks have been dandy at home with a league-high 23 victories and better on the road lately at a 5-1-1 clip in their past seven away from General Motors Place.

"It's a cliché, but it's one game at a time," said Canucks speedy forward Alexandre Burrows, who scored twice and set up Daniel and Henrik Sedin for third-period goals.

"We didn't play our best in the first period, but we knew if we could get a goal it would put some pressure on them. They are on a losing streak and they would tighten up and maybe play more defensively if we could get a goal."

The Leafs had a 3-0 lead after the first period. Phil Kessel converted two passes from linemate Matt Stajan behind the goal-line before the game was four minutes old. Jamal Mayers blew a shot past Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo with five seconds remaining in the opening 20 minutes.

5-on-3 penalty kill

It should have been an uplifting goal for Toronto because the Leafs penalty killers — the worst in the NHL — managed to kill off an 83-second 5-on-3 disadvantage just before Mayers's goal.

Instead, the Canucks kept pushing. Burrows scored a shorthanded breakaway goal after stripping Toronto's Alexei Ponikarovsky at the Vancouver blue-line midway through the second period. He did the old bow-and-arrow celebration afterward to pump up his teammates.

After that, it was all the Sedins and Burrows. After each twin scored to tie the game in the third period, Henrik set up Daniel with 2:04 left for the winner. Burrows added an empty netter in the final minute.

The likeable Burrows certainly hasn't slowed down since his run-in with referee Stephane Auger three weeks ago.

The hockey world was divided on who was right. Burrows claimed that Auger told him he "would get him." Auger's account was that he merely scolded the player for an embellishment on a hit in a game in early December.

"It doesn't matter to him whether he's not liked,” Vigneault said. "He only cares that he's liked by his teammates and in Vancouver.

"He has a lot of knowledge of how to play the game offensively and is a great competitor. We're fortunate to have him."

The Sedins and Burrows clearly are the top line in the game right now.

'Best in the league'

"They are the best in the league right now and we gave them too much respect," Toronto coach Ron Wilson said.

Vigneault lifted Luongo after the opening 20 minutes. He surrendered three goals on eight shots, less than 24 hours after the Leafs put four behind his Canadian Olympic counterpart, Martin Brodeur, on 29 shots in a 5-4 overtime win for New Jersey.

Somewhere, Canadian Olympic team executive director Steve Yzerman is wondering which goalies will show up for his team in Vancouver next month.

Andrew Raycroft relieved Luongo in fine fashion to shut down his former team.

"He doesn't get to play much, but he stepped up for us," Burrows said of the backup goalie.

Raycroft stopped the 13 shots he faced in front of the capacity crowd of 19,534 in a building he was often booed when he played for the Leafs.

"It obviously was unexpected," said Raycroft of seeing some action. He had sat on the bench as Luongo has made 25 consecutive starts. "But it was kind of nice."

The Canucks outshot Toronto 36-21. As bad as the Leafs have been this season, this was the first time they lost in regulation time after carrying the lead into the third period. Toronto now is 13-1-2 when leading after 40 minutes.

The Leafs find themselves back in 15th spot in the East and 29th overall because the Carolina Hurricanes managed a 4-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.