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VANCOUVER - The Vancouver Canucks tried to put on their business-as-usual face Monday despite indications that star goaltender Roberto Luongo has a long-term injury.

Gilles Lupien, Luongo's agent, told cyberpresse.ca in Montreal that the Canucks captain has a suspected groin injury and will be sidelined four to five weeks.

But the Canucks wouldn't comment on Luongo's status Monday, saying they were still awaiting the results of an MRI.

Luongo was hurt early in Saturday's game in Pittsburgh making what appeared to be a routine save on a shot by Philippe Boucher. He slowly collapsed to the ice and was assisted off while favouring his left leg.

"I deal with the guys that are healthy," head coach Alain Vigneault said prior to Monday night's game against the Detroit Red Wings. "For us, it's business as usual."

Still, many of Luongo's teammates appeared to be preparing themselves to continue on without him.

"You never want to see your captain go down, especially a player of his calibre and being the best player on our team," said forward Ryan Kesler. "It definitely hurts but we've got to move on."

With Luongo out of action, the bulk of the work will fall to backup backup Curtis Sanford, who faced a sea of microphones Monday.

"Our players play well in front of Curtis and Curtis is an experienced NHL goaltender ... and he'll do a good job for us," Vigneault said.

"It's a great challenge for our core players. I think we've responded real well this year when we've been challenged."

Sanford said he didn't know how long he'd be cast in the No. 1 role but replacing Luongo won't be easy.

"Obviously there's a lot of pressure but this is what we play for," said Sanford, a journeyman from Owen Sound, Ont. "It's something we embrace. It gets you on your toes and you get out there and play as best you can."

Luongo, 29, the highest-paid Canuck at $US 7 million a season, was hurt less than five minutes into the Canucks' 3-1 win. He was kicking out his left pad when Boucher's point shot changed direction.

He attempted to adjust but ended up face down on the ice in pain for several minutes before being helped to the dressing room by teammates.

Sanford finished the game, stopping 17 of 18 shots.

"It's deflating but he's a tough guy," Sanford said of Luongo's injury. "I tore my groin before, pretty severely, and it wasn't fun. It was four months before I started playing again. You just come to work every day and do whatever you can to get better."