The front-office revolutionary

Mike Gillis's frustrations as a player shaped his

unconventional style as a general manager, which has forged

the Vancouver Canucks into a perennial Stanley Cup

contender

By Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun

―Canucks losing starts now." I didn't write that headline in 2008, but Mike Gillis "Canucks

blames me, anyway.

The only problem with the headline, besides questionable punctuation, was its inaccuracy.

The Vancouver Canucks general manager, hired without National Hockey League managerial

experience and from the one-man short list assembled by owner Francesco Aquilini, did few of

the things others expected him to do.

Gillis didn't fire coach Alain Vigneault or trade Daniel and Henrik Sedin or gut the scouting

department or march any of previous GM Dave Nonis's top hires to the guillotine.

He did none of the rabbleappeasing things new GMs are called by supporters - or employers - to

do.

And so the Canucks didn't start losing. Not then and not now, as Vancouver opens another

season after the best year in their history.

In his first long interview with The Vancouver Sun 3½ years ago, Gillis pledged to be

unconventional and sounded like he wanted to revolutionize how NHL teams are managed.

He talked about non-conforming Oakland Athletics' general manager Billy Beane and Moneyball

and sabermetrics - the reliance on statistical analysis over emotion and instinct.

"A lot of people tried to interpret that as us applying sabermetrics to hockey, which doesn't

work," Gillis says now.

"But the idea that you are prepared to think differently and prepared to not be conventional in

decision-making is the one thing I got out of reading Moneyball. I felt strongly all along there

were different ways to try to win in the National Hockey League, and that book confirmed for

me ... that thinking unconventionally is a good thing."

The movie confirmed it, too. Gillis saw Moneyball last week with his wife, Diane, and daughter

Kate. It's a terrific film.

If they ever make a movie about Gillis, Philip Seymour Hoffman is more likely to be cast as the

protagonist than Brad Pitt. But Gillis and Beane are almost identical in this: Beane's distrust of

baseball's conventions was fuelled largely by the failure of those conventions to serve him as a

player, just as the hockey establishment failed Gillis.

"I really hadn't thought of similarities between he and myself," Gillis says.

"But I was a very high draft pick, too, who was hurt a lot - and hurt a lot early - in my career. I

didn't have the kind of career that I had projected for myself, for sure, and that others had for me.

And when I watched the movie, those kind of similarities struck home.

"After my career ended, reflecting back, I was really disappointed how the system was then.

There was little room for patience. There wasn't any kind of working with people to get through

issues. You were either ready to play or not ready to play and that was it. It was difficult."

BULL IN A CHINA SHOP

Gillis was the middle of three children born in Toronto to Helen and Patrick. He has an older

sister, Patricia, and a younger brother, Paul, who played 624 games in the NHL and coaches the

Odessa Jackalopes of the Junior-A North American Hockey League.

Gillis left Toronto at 16 to play for the Kingston Canadians of the Ontario League. His parents

imposed a minimum academic standard of 75 per cent "or I'd have to go home."

His linemates in Kingston were Ken Linseman and Mike Simurda, a second-round NHL draft

pick in 1978 who is one of Gillis's oldest and closest friends.

"He was like a bull in a china shop," Simurda, a portfolio manager with RBC in Toronto, says.

"He was skilled and had good hands. But he was the kind of player you didn't want to get in front

of because if it meant running you over to get where he needed to go, he was going to do that. He

played that way all the time, even in practice. He wasn't afraid to hit even his own teammates."

Despite badly breaking his leg the season before, Gillis was chosen fifth overall by the Colorado

Rockies in 1978. He was a 6-1 power forward who had 67 points and 86 penalty minutes in 43

games his final year in Kingston. In an intra-squad game at his first NHL training camp, Gillis

injured his knee so badly he required surgery to repair the anterior cruciate and medial collateral

ligaments, as well as the medial meniscus.

That injury today would cause a player to miss an entire season. Back in 1978, comparatively

still the Dark Ages for knee operations, Gillis was playing three months later.

He was never the same. He hurt his knee again later in his rookie year and struggled through 1½

more seasons in Denver before the Rockies gave up on him, trading Gillis to the Boston Bruins

in 1981.

"Back then, they really rushed you back to play," Gillis says.

"You didn't have a choice, but I wanted to play. It was a very different time. Really a very

different time than what it is like today. The business was much smaller and teams were run in a

very different way."

Autocratically?

"Very."

One of Gillis's coaches in Colorado was Don Cherry, who did not respond to an interview

request for this story. Gillis's general manager in Boston was Harry Sinden. There are dinosaurs

who think Cherry and Sinden are old-fashioned.

"I don't remember anyone ever asking us to be free thinkers and go out there and be

imaginative," Simurda, who quit hockey after two minorleague seasons, says of the culture.

"[But] Mike was never one to be swayed by the system."

Gillis says: "I remember getting sent to the minors one time after an arbitration hearing in which

I was moderately successful. There wasn't a lot of money involved. But just the fact you'd choose

to go to arbitration, you were going to the minors. You could be made an example because you

virtually had no rights."

Gillis broke his leg again in Boston and spent his final three seasons in pro hockey shuttling

between the NHL and the American League, where he had 113 points for the Baltimore

Skipjacks in 1982-'83.

He retired in 1984, went back to Kingston and Queen's University and became a lawyer.

His final NHL numbers: 246 games, 33 goals.

"I came out of [hockey] really disappointed," Gillis says.

"I was disappointed in myself because I felt I should have done things differently. Players didn't

have much say in their careers. It was just a completely different time. I went along with it. I

mean, you see a lot of things when you play hockey, especially in that era. The brawling and

injuries and medical care and all sorts of different things you could see if you were observant.

Everything about the game was highly adversarial."

AN UNORTHODOX AGENT

More than a decade later, Gillis attacked the establishment as a take-no-prisoners player agent. In

1997, he successfully sued Alan Eagleson, hockey's corrupt godfather, for $42,000. His former

agent had skimmed off Gillis's injuryinsurance payout. Taking down the NHL's most powerful

figure was an unorthodox way to start a second career in hockey.

"The status-quo is not who Mike is," former Turner Sports president Harvey Schiller says of his

friend.

"He's a risk-taker. He doesn't suffer fools very well, or at all. He has broken the mould in a lot of

ways."

Most things about Gillis are unorthodox. He chose to operate his agency as a two-man business

out of his home, limiting his client base. He didn't socialize much with other agents and was

unpopular among peers who lost clients when players reached their peak earning years and

decided Gillis was the guy to get them the biggest payday.

"I didn't care about being liked," Gillis says.

"I cared about doing the best job I could with players and really tried to make a difference, which

I didn't feel I had when I was a player."

Always, Gillis was innovative.

"He would often discuss with you your training techniques and your thought process heading

into the next game," says former client Dave Gagner, now the Canucks' director of player

development.

"He was a little different in that regard. As a player, and then being a player agent, he developed

ideas on how to improve the environment for players to reach their full potential. He wanted an

opportunity to create that environment."

Aquilini gave him one.

The Canucks are 148-74-24 under Gillis and have played eight playoff rounds in three seasons.

They had two chances to win one game for the Stanley Cup last season and are among the

favourites again this year.

The success rate overshadows profound changes Gillis has orchestrated away from the ice. Every

aspect of Canucks player development and performance is being addressed.

Millions of Aquilini's money has been spent on player comfort. Some of Gillis's ideas have been

ridiculed.

"If you're ever hanging out with scouts at a game," Paul Gillis explains, "one guy has an opinion

and everybody else has the same opinion. The thing in hockey is nobody wants to step out on a

ledge and put a different opinion out there. Mike does have a lot of confidence in himself and

puts a lot of thought into what he does. And if you feel confident about yourself, you don't care

what other people think."

We know the Canucks have a Mind Room for mental preparation, sleep consultants, Gagner's

player-development program, a giant scouting staff, opulent facilities and their own chef. But

Gillis claims the majority of his initiatives aren't even in the public domain.

In every way Gillis felt let down as a player - development time, training tools, and technical and

emotional support - the Canucks now offer their players assistance.

Canucks centre Manny Malhotra says it "speaks volumes" that Gillis and assistant GM Laurence

Gilman were with him in New York for the eye surgery last March that saved his career.

"It really gives that sense that you're not just a piece of meat on the team," Malhotra says.

"We take care of our own here. They truly care about me as a person even more than as a hockey

player."

Gillis says: "My approach - and the way we've taken this organization - is to say: 'OK, you may

not be ready today. But we believe you're going to be ready at some point and we're going to do

everything humanly possible to get you there. We're going to provide you with every resource

we can. So at the end of the day, if it doesn't work out, it's not because we didn't try our hardest.'

I think that's the fairest way to treat people. That's not really a conventional way of thinking in

this business. But your experiences do dictate your beliefs."

Sluggish start doesn't finish well in opener

Penguins jump out to early lead on special teams and soft

goals before Canucks make a game of it

By Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun

Roberto Luongo and most of the Vancouver Canuck regulars only played two pre-season games.

Apparently, that was not enough.

The Canucks seemed to be a step behind, especially early in the game, and Luongo surrendered

two ugly goals as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat Vancouver 4-3 in a shootout in the season-opener

for both clubs Thursday night at Rogers Arena.

"Our first half of the first period wasn't good enough," said Canuck captain Henrik Sedin. "After

that we played a better first period and then in the second they took over again in the first part,

but after that, halfway through the game, I thought we took over.

"Again, this is what happens when you are not playing your best hockey. You are going to end

up losing games in overtime or a shootout. We were lucky to get back in this one."

With Ryan Kesler sidelined following off-season hip surgery, the fear was that the Canucks

might be a one-line team. For long stretches of Thursday's game, that's exactly what they were.

The Sedins and linemate Alex Burrows were solid most of the night and created plenty of

chances. But the rest of the Canuck forwards weren't generating much.

Luongo set the tone when he allowed James Neal to beat him from behind the goal-line at 5: 04

of the first period. Neal threw the puck at the Canuck net and the puck hit Luongo's right pad

before rolling between his legs. The goal came on a Pittsburgh power play.

Former Canuck Matt Cooke made it 2-0 at 12: 30. He converted a backhand pass from behind

the net from Pascal Dupuis, who had intercepted a Canuck clearing attempt.

Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury returned the favour late in the first when he allowed Maxim

Lapierre to beat him from behind the goal-line at the 16: 20 mark. Lapierre stole the puck off

Pittsburgh defenceman Paul Martin and his shot went in off the right skate of a surprised Fleury.

But Luongo allowed another softie at 3: 09 of the second when Cooke put a long shot from the

right faceoff circle past him while the Penguins were short-handed.

Luongo was making no excuses after the game.

"I felt good, got in the game right away, but again shots from there I have to make sure I

eliminate those," he said. "The boys battled hard, it was nice to see. We could have packed it in,

but we stuck with it. The guys worked hard all night to get it back to even and we had a few

chances to win the game."

The Canucks do deserve some credit for battling back to get a point. And it was the Sedin twins

who made it happen.

Henrik fed a perfect pass to rushing defenceman Keith Ballard, who beat Fleury short side at 17:

47 of the second to cut the Pittsburgh lead to 3-2.

Daniel Sedin tied the game at 7: 51 of the third on a delayed penalty call. He beat Fleury high to

the short side after a nice set up by brother Henrik.

"They obviously tried to get pucks deep and get their forecheck going and we were on our heels

for the first 10 minutes, but I thought we battled back hard," Daniel said."Our last two periods

were a lot better. Overall, we should be pretty happy."

Sedin wasn't buying the suggestion that some of the Canuck regulars were hurt by the limited

pre-season action they saw.

"We have been talking a lot about that," he said.

"I had three exhibition games last year so it's not a big difference. It doesn't matter how many

you play, you still have a five-day layoff before the first game."

Luongo couldn't make a save in the shootout.

Both Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin beat him cleanly in the shootout. At the other end of the

ice, Fleury stopped Mikael Samuelsson and Burrows.

"You have to give their goalie some credit, he made some good saves," Burrows said. "You hope

for the best, you put a shot on net but sometimes you have to tip your hat to the other team's

goalie."

ICE CHIPS: The Canucks had all the trophies won by the organization last season at centre ice

for a pre-game ceremony. The team also paid tribute to several people who helped during and

after the Stanley Cup riot ... The Canucks don't play again until Monday, when they begin a four-

game road trip in Columbus. That trip also makes stops in Philadelphia, Detroit and Edmonton ...

The Canucks outshot the Pens 36-28.

Can we cut Luongo some slack?

'Lou's turn to boos as netminder's stock plummets in

hockey-crazy market

By Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun

It's hard to run through an airport when your luggage consists of a steamer trunk, overnight bag,

backpack, hat box and a chihuahua. Imagine what's it's like to play hockey that way.

Imagine what it's like to be Roberto Luongo.

The good news is the Vancouver Canucks goalie has about 60 more starts to lighten his load. The

bad news Thursday is he added a neck pillow and garment bag to his luggage by starting this

season like he ended the last one.

After his worst playoff series as a Canuck came in the Stanley Cup Final, Luongo looked terrible

on the first goal, lousy on the third and overmatched in the shootout as Vancouver opened

another National Hockey League season with a 4-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

We get that it's one game - the first one. We also get that Luongo typically shows up for a season

about the time Christmas decorations show up in the mall. We also know that regardless of how

he looks this week and this month, he'll finish with 35-40 wins, a goalsagainst average in the

2.25range and a save percentage that starts with nine.

The problem is he's out of free passes in this market. He's got nothing in the bank. Until he puts

together a long string of strong starts, which generally doesn't happen for him until at least

November, each lousy night only adds to the burden he created in the final when neither his talk

nor walk was noble as the Canucks lost four of the last five games to the Boston Bruins.

There were groans Thursday when Luongo allowed James Neal's shot from right wing behind

the goal-line to carom off his stick and slide between his pads into the net at 5: 04 of the season.

And there were boos - and not from the press box - when Matt Cooke's sharp-angle wrist shot

beat him from 35 feet for a short-handed goal that put the Penguins ahead 3-1 and drained

Canuck momentum at 3: 09 of the second period.

"I would get on myself if I let in goals like that, too," Luongo said. "I didn't see it off the stick

right away, but again, there's no way the guy should score from there. I've got to make that save.

"I've got to do a better job as far as those two goals are concerned."

Can't we just cut the poor guy some slack? No? Okay, just thought we'd ask.

Humility will go a long way for Luongo.

There seems to be zero tolerance in this market for his mistakes.

Luongo probably would have been blamed had the doublericochet off Keith Ballard's feet

trickled into the Canuck net instead of inches wide late in the final period.

The situation is neither healthy nor very fair for a threetime Vezina Trophy finalist who won a

gold medal for Team Canada in the Canucks' building less than two years ago.

But that's the way it is for now, which makes it harder on Luongo than anyone else on the

Canucks to play his way into form.

And he was by no means the only Canuck still in pre-season form much of Thursday.

The top defence pair of Kevin Bieksa and Dan Hamhuis looked disharmonious, the special teams

were a mess and the second line a rumour until Cody Hodgson showed some poise with the puck

late in the third period before shooting through Marc-Andre Fleury's pads but just wide of the

post.

But while Luongo lacks for crowd support right now he has the benefit of run support from two

of the best forwards in the world.

Daniel and Henrik Sedin displayed no signs of surrendering the family monopoly on Art Ross

trophies, dazzling and dominating in the second half of the game.

Daniel's deft pass into space was collected at full flight by an overlapping Ballard, who

confidently scored to cut into the Penguins' 3-1 lead at 17: 47 of the second period. And Daniel

salvaged the Canucks a point when he calmly picked Fleury's top left corner 8: 01 into the third

period after a nice saucer pass by Henrik and terrific rush by Alex Burrows.

Another Canuck goal in overtime would have made people forget about Luongo - at least for a

night.

Instead, the game's final images was the goalie badly fooled and beaten in the shootout as Kris

Letang and Evgeni Malkin scored on the only shots the Penguins needed.

"I've got to stop at least one of those," Luongo said.

Can Canucks copy Cup march of the

Penguins?

Inspiration for Vancouver: Pittsburgh lost final in '08,

started slowly the next year then won the Cup

By Cam Cole, Vancouver Sun

It is October. Somehow, they have to get to June.

The trail between Game 1 and Game 100-and-some looks a million miles long from here, and it's

guaranteed to pass - because every hockey season does - through a minefield of injuries, mental

fatigue, slumps and crises.

And only if enough elements break right, and right to the end, do the Vancouver Canucks get to

do what the Pittsburgh Penguins did two seasons ago: rebound from a loss in the Stanley Cup

Final to get there again - and win.

Ask Ray Shero what the Penguins had to battle, mentally and physically, to return to the final

and beat Detroit in 2009, and the Pittsburgh GM begins with this:

"Disappointment," he said Thursday, as the Pens - sans Sidney Crosby - and Canucks prepared to

open their seasons at Rogers Arena, where the 2010-11 campaign seems to have ended just five

minutes ago.

"Not knowing if we'd ever get back there again. I mean, all that work . the realization that we got

to Game 6 of the finals and we lost, you could feel that coming back to training camp. And thank

God we won the second time, because I can't imagine what it would have been like - what it

must have been like for the Buffalo Bills, getting [to the Super Bowl] four times in a row and

losing."

Comparisons, in this case, are inexact. The 2009 Penguins had a nucleus of young, resilient stars

- Crosby, Evgeny Malkin, Jordan Staal, MarcAndre Fleury - just hitting their stride. Their

window for winning the Cup was considerably larger than that of the Canucks, who have just

one reasonably young star, Ryan Kesler, and the rest of their nucleus well on in years.

"In our situation, too, we lost some key role players from the year before - Ryan Malone on a big

free-agent contract with Tampa, a couple of others, so we lost a little bit of our identity in terms

of our grit," Shero said. "Also, we had two injuries to pretty good defencemen right off the bat -

lost Sergei Gonchar in the first pre-season game, he was gone for 55 games, and then we lost

Ryan Whitney for 35."

The 2008-09 Pens were in 10th place, outside the playoffs, in February.

"It was a combination of a little of the roster, a little of the injuries, and a little of the

disappointment and trying to get the feeling back," Shero said. "We had to make a coaching

change."

Out went Michel Therrien, in came Dan Bylsma from the farm team in Wilkes-Barre.

"We just needed to get things going in the right direction, a little more positive attitude," said

Shero. "It was a breath of fresh air when Bylsma came in."

What the Penguins faced - what the Canucks face, too - is nothing they haven't anticipated.

"I think the two biggest things are, one, you definitely don't sneak up on anybody," said

Pittsburgh defenceman Brooks Orpik.

"I mean, they've been good for a long time, so maybe it's not that much different - but no matter

what game you're playing out of 82, the other team probably has that marked off on their

schedule. Everyone's gunning for you.

"But also, you hear so much from media and fans about, 'Jeez, is there going to be a hangover,

and fatigue?' Guys take care of themselves so well now, I really don't think that [physical] part of

it's a big deal, but it's probably more of a mental drain. That's why you have to kind of keep your

focus within the room . because if people tell you you're supposed to be tired, you're going to

feel tired, and sometimes you can use that as a crutch if things don't go your way."

Shero and Orpik and Pens winger Pascal Dupuis all agreed on one other essential of a successful

Stanley Cup run: luck.

The Canucks, last spring, may have used up all theirs in the first round against Chicago. By the

time they faced Boston in the final, they were trying to do it with smoke and mirrors.

"When you take an actual hard, analytical look at what happened in five games last year - the last

five games of the Stanley Cup Final - it's pretty clear," Canucks GM Mike Gillis said Thursday.

"The strength of our team throughout the season was our ability to adapt to adversity because we

had the personnel to do it. When we got to the final, we couldn't come at them with wave after

wave like we had in the season, because Kesler was injured, Samuelsson was injured, Manny

[Malhotra] was at basically 40 per cent, Raymond got hurt, Rome got suspended, Hamhuis got

hurt, Higgins had a broken foot, Edler had broken fingers ... you go down the list, and we

couldn't push back in the way we were accustomed to, by putting the puck in their net.

"And that's the reality. People want to interpret that as an excuse, but it's fact. I was in the

medical room. I know what was going on."

Injuries are the wild card in any plan, and Gillis and the Canucks brain trust definitely had a plan

for this pre-season, trying to engineer the proper state of readiness to begin the marathon again.

That's why they held so many of the veterans out of all but a couple of exhibition games.

"We thought long and hard about it. We talked to other people, we looked at other sports, Alain

talked to coaches in other sports, to other NHL coaches," Gillis said.

The suggestion, though, that the Canucks might be willing to sacrifice a little regular-season glitz

to be in better shape come April and beyond is not it at all, said the GM.

"I think losing the year before can have a really positive effect on your team. Most of our players

had never been in that situation before," he said.

"I think it allows them the comfort of knowing that things aren't determined by one game or one

period or one shift, they're determined by consistency, and belief, and doing things the right way

in every game you play.

"You need to get lucky, too, though. You need to have everything go your way to get there, and

hopefully if you get another opportunity, you've learned from your experience." Gillis is all for

learning from history, but there's one part of the Penguins' blueprint he's not sure he needs to

adopt.

"You're not planning to fire Alain Vigneault in February?" a writer asked.

"Not now, I'm not," Gillis said, smiling.

But he half-jokingly left the thought unfinished. Even February is a long way away.

Game within a game

By Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun

THREE STARS

- Daniel Sedin, Canucks. Starts slowly, finishes as best player in game with one goal, one assist,

four shots.

-- Matt Cooke, Penguins. Noted cheap-shot sticks to hockey, scores twice on two beauty shots.

--- Kris Letang, Penguins. Skilled Pittsburgh D-man earns two assists, scores shootout winner.

PIVOTAL POINT

With the Canucks trailing 3-2 in the third period and storming the Penguins on a delayed penalty,

Daniel Sedin picks the top shelf glove side on Marc-Andre Fleury to finally pull his team even,

enabling them to salvage a point after a dreadful start.

IRON MAN HANK

Canuck captain Henrik Sedin played in his 500th consecutive regular-season game. Henrik

began the streak on March 21, 2004. He hasn't missed an outing since the lockout ended.

BY THE NUMBERS

First faceoff win of the season: Henrik Sedin (over Jordan Staal) ... First shot of the season:

Penguin defenceman Zbynek Michalek ... First bad call: Matt Cooke loses edge near boards,

Kevin Bieksa sent off for hooking ... First quid pro quo: Roberto Luongo lets James Neal beat

him from terrible angle on Penguins' first goal; Marc-Andre Fleury lets Max Lapierre beat him

from terrible angle on Canucks' first goal.

HONOURED GUESTS

As part of pre-game ceremony, Canucks bring to centre ice representatives of Vancouver police

department, RCMP, Fire and Rescue Services, First Responders, health care workers, cleanup

volunteers and citizens who tried to stop rioters on the infamous June 15th night. Henrik Sedin

shook the hand of all involved.

HIT OF THE NIGHT

Canuck left-winger Aaron Volpatti lines up Penguin, instead hits teammate Jannik Hansen.

Ouch!

SAVE OF THE NIGHT

With the score tied 3-3 late in regulation, Canuck rookie Cody Hodgson looks to have Marc-

Andre Fleury beaten on a longside deke but the Penguin netminder manages to get a piece of the

puck with this leg pad and it dribbled just wide.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Canucks and Penguins had played just one other season opener against one another, on Oct.

6, 1976. Pittsburgh won that one, too, 9-5 over the Phil Maloney-coached Canucks.

Looks like a long month for Luongo

Netminder quick to blame himself for conceding Pittsburgh

goals

By Jason Botchford, The Province

If you've already started dissecting every soft goal Roberto Luongo surrenders - and judging by

the reaction of fans, some have - it's going to be a long year.

It already promises to be a long month. October historically is for Luongo. He figures he's had

one "really good one" in his career. Thursday's start did not suggest this will be the second.

Luongo was always at risk of being most affected by the decision to truncate preseason for

Vancouver's veterans. Typically, he plays three to four preseason games. This year, he played

two.

Typically, he's skating by July. This year, he wasn't back on blades until mid-August. About a

month of his training was shaved off because of the Stanley Cup final run.

So he, more than anyone, will be something of a work in progress. It sure looked that way in a

familiar first 23 minutes during which Luongo played like he never left Boston.

But an overly contrite Luongo was not willing to use any of it to cover up the mess he made by

serving up McSofties in a 4-3 shootout loss.

"None of it is an excuse," Luongo said. "I don't think it can be an excuse at all. I'll be better for

sure.

"There was a couple goals I have to be better on. I can't let those in at this stage. There was good

and bad, but generally, I want to be better for my teammates."

Some jeering fans let him know early there won't be much margin for error before they jump

down his throat this season. Luongo said he's OK with it.

"I would get on myself if I let in goals like that, too," he said.

From all this, you may conclude Luongo was terrible. He wasn't. He made some solid saves. He

got a glove on a sharp Chris Kunitz snap shot in the third. He tracked and got in front of a James

Neal tip shot with nine minutes to go. Both saves helped the Canucks to the point they earned.

But with the good, came the bad.

Luongo copped to all of it, too, taking over the league lead in apologies. He said he should have

had the first goal, which was on a shot from behind the goal-line just 5: 04 into the game.

This, a normally harmless area, haunted Luongo in the postseason. In the playoffs, shots from

behind the goal continued to find a way in. It happened again Thursday. This time on a rather

gentle James Neal shot. Luongo actually swept it into his goal with his stick and right pad.

"Again, obviously, that's not the type of goal you want to be letting in early in the game," he

said.

He didn't stop there. Luongo took a mea culpa for the third goal, a sailing Matt Cooke

shorthanded wrister which beat him from 44 feet out.

"I didn't get it off the stick right away," Luongo said. "There's no way a guy should score from

there. I have to make that save."

He wasn't done. He cut his critics off at the pass by acknowledging he wasn't good enough in the

shootout. He was beat on consecutive backhand moves by Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin.

"I have to be more patient there, I was trying to wait them out, and they went to the backhand

both times. I have to stop at least one those," he said.

It was a bad combination. He's never been a shootout goalie and rarely been good in October.

"In my career, I've probably only had one really good October," he said, leading up to the game.

"I was trying to remember what I did, but I can't. It's something that just happens. I put the work

in, trust me. I worked as hard as I could this summer on and off the ice.

"I've had good preseasons, so not everything is related to the start. This year, I'm just going with

it, whatever happens, happens. God forbid, I don't have a good start, I'm not going to any extra

emphasis on myself. I know what I can do. It's a long year."

It sure is.

What was bad, not bad at all

By Tony Gallagher, The Province

Anyone thinking the Vancouver Canucks were going to take an enormous swan dive this year

got a pretty good indication that this may still be a very strong team and perhaps still the best in

the league.

Taking on one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, the Canucks were missing two or

three of their better players and many of those on the ice performed so poorly the wags watching

were curious as to which member of last year's finalists was furthest below par.

And that was a lengthy discussion, yet still the Canucks came away with a point.

Clearly Roberto Luongo was in contention for "furthest below form" with his two ridiculous

whiffs that have to take the starch out of any team, the peaks and valleys with this guy becoming

almost absurd. Now the air is beginning to come out of this team every time he fans one, and

that's not a good sign. And the shootout? Absolutely laughable. Just how long this can continue

with this team is a mystery, but the paying customer is growing genuinely tired of it - not that

their opinion ever matters.

Alex Burrows did more whiffing than Alex Rodriguez in the first two periods when the Sedins

handed him cold chances to pass Matt Cooke as the league's leading goal-scorer. Dan Hamhuis

certainly didn't look himself, and partner Kevin Bieksa at times looked as though he was doing

his now loved bust of Ryan Kesler posing nude while actually playing.

The line of Cody Hodgson, Marco Sturm and Michael Samuelsson was downright funny at

times, the trio so slow that on one shift midway through the third period they appeared as statues

standing around in their own zone as the Pens tried to break the 3-3 tie. Hodgson actually got

going a little better and nearly won it in the third period with his best chance of the evening.

"That line is still trying to find a little chemistry," said coach Alain Vigneault when asked how

he thought Hodgson played.

Wheels is what they're looking to find, Hodgson looking like a gazelle relative to his plodding

wingers.

Manny Malhotra still has some work to do. Perhaps the most shocking of all was Jannik Hansen,

who looked so uncomfortable and nothing like the player who was so good here all season last

year.

But hey, the Sedins were going, and when that happens it's essentially a free pass for all

Vancouver players, the get-outof-jail-free card, if you will. And among those using that card may

have been the management and coaches who decided to have the veteran players practice rather

than play during the pre-season. On the basis of one game, which admittedly is pretty flimsy

evidence on which to proceed, that whole strategy should be filed under the nice-try category and

something else used next season. Perhaps a playing tour of Nigeria to generate the "hunger"

which was promised?

But that's how good this team can be. When all was said and done, Vancouver got a point firing

on about one and onehalf cylinders. When the rust comes off most of the roster and Ryan Kesler

gets back, this team should put up some numbers.

"This is what happens when you're not playing your best," said Henrik Sedin, who put in his best

game Rogers Arena has seen since the San Jose series.

"We were lucky to get back and get the point."

"I think the ceremonies with all the delays and trophies and stuff may have been a factor, but I

thought once the midway point in the game came along we were a lot better," said Sami Salo,

who was one of the best players on the ice for Vancouver, along with Keith Ballard, who scored

a spectacular goal and played one of his best games in a Canuck jersey.

"We were happy with the way we played in our last exhibition game against Edmonton but then

five days off and that may have affected our start," said Hamhuis, who happily said he felt very

strong on the ice despite looking rusty. "But you take the schedule as it comes."

Canucks lose 4-3 to Penguins in sluggish

season opener

By Ben Kuzma, The Province

One game in and some second-guessing has already begun.

With an often sluggish and tentative performance in their regular-season opener Thursday, it was

easy to suggest that the bulk of the Vancouver Canucks' veteran core would have benefitted from

playing rather than practising in the preseason. The timing was off and the finish was flat in a 4-3

shootout loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at Rogers Arena.

It was an indication that the heightened pace of playing for keeps caught too many by surprise. It

took Daniel Sedin's snap shot from the slot at 7:51 of the third period to pull the Canucks even at

3-3 to erase 2-0 and 3-1 deficits on a night where it looked like nothing would go right. And

when Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin scored in the shootout and Mikael Samuelsson and Alex

Burrows didn't, it started some navel-gazing.

"We had four or five minutes early on that weren't good enough and after that I thought we

played better," Canucks captain Henrik Sedin said of outshooting the Penguins 36-28 and 15-6 in

the third period. "This is what happens when you're not playing your best hockey — you're going

to end up losing games in overtime or the shootout. We were lucky to get back in this one."

Roberto Luongo has had better nights and gave up two goals on the first six shots. Burrows

whiffed on three scoring chances in the slot, failed to convert a cross-ice feed from Daniel Sedin

and pull the Canucks into a draw in the third period and was later thwarted again. He could have

won the game on his own with five shots.

"I have to find a way to bury them and that could have been the difference," Burrows said. "But

they [Penguins] were pretty good off the start. They got pucks in deep and played a simple north-

south game and put a lot of pressure on our D-men."

Daniel even took an extra second to release a wrister when he walked out from behind the net

and shot the puck into the glove of Marc-Andre Fleury, whose mitt straddled the goal line. A

brief video review of the second-period sequence nullified the effort, but it was much easier to

draw a collective conclusion, even though the Art Ross Trophy winner would disagree.

"We battled back and got our point and we should be pretty happy with this one," Daniel said.

Well, that's open to interpretation. After dominating team statistics last season, the Canucks

surrendered two power-play goals and gave up a shorthanded effort. It was so bad early that

agitator Matt Cooke looked like a Rocket Richard Trophy candidate as the former Canuck scored

twice, including a shorthanded goal that gave the Penguins a 3-1 lead early in the second period.

James Neal had the other goal.

The Canucks got two of their three goals from those who played in the preseason. Maxim

Lapierre looked in Game 5 form of the Stanley Cup final when he stripped Paul Martin of the

puck in the corner late in the first period to narrow a 2-0 deficit. His wrister from below the

goalline hit Fleury's left pad and the goalie then knocked it in with the right. Keith Ballard

looked like he was shot out of a cannon when he started a sequence and then raced into the open

to convert a Henrik Sedin pass and snap a short-side shot past Fleury late in the second period to

make it 3-2.

"I moved the puck up and just kind of kept going and Hank made a nice pass," said Ballard. "The

preseason helped me definitely and helped ease the transition and it's definitely a step up when

the real games start."

Which was painfully obvious in the opening 30 minutes.

"We didn't get the start we wanted to and they had a lot of momentum and our special teams

weren't very good," Ballard added. "But we did a good job coming back from 3-1 against a very

good team. We need to be sharper coming out of our end and through the neutral zone and once

we did that, we were better."

One of the pressing questions was with Ryan Kesler still two weeks away from returning from

offseason hip surgery, would Cody Hodgson succeed as the riddle in the middle of a suspect

second line with Marco Sturm and Mikael Samuelsson? Could Sturm regain his 20-goal form

despite two knee surgeries in the last three years and could the aging Samuelsson find his stride

after adductor and sports hernia procedures last May?

One game isn't much of a measuring stick, but none of the above really impressed. Hodgson

wasn't getting much ice early because of penalty trouble but nearly broke a 3-3 draw in the final

minute of regulation time when he shot trickled by the net after Fleury got a piece of the effort.

That was better than Sturm and Samuelsson, who both laboured with their strides. Sturm didn't

have a shot. Samuelsson had two.

"Mikael made a great pass to me and I just missed wide," said Hodgson, who had two shots in

16:01. "I just kind of followed the rest of the team and had a slow start. But once we got going,

we had a few chances we should have capitalized on."

It was just one game but by being in the crosshairs this season, few will be easy for the Canucks.

The van provies nightly awards

By Jason Botchford, The Province

BEST QUIP

"Alex Burrows is making less contact than A-Rod."

- This came after Burrows whiffed on several Grade-A scoring chances. Alex Rodriguez struck

out three times for the Yankees on Thursday.

BEST COMPARISON

Keith Ballard looked like he was skating down hill. Marco Sturm skated like he was scaling a

mountain.

BEST DROP

Answering questions from a Pittsburgh media member, Kevin Bieksa was discussing what the

team has to do this year, adding the line, "we have to play with the heart of the Canuck." It was a

sly drop of the team's slogan this year. The media member didn't flinch, either.

BEST IMPROVEMENT

For the Canucks, it's their fourth line, even though it had a poor shift which led to the Penguins

first goal. Max Lapierre played 8: 54, had a plus-2 rating, had five hits and won five of seven

faceoffs. That's a rather significant improvement over Alex Bolduc, who started last season

centring the fourth line and is now basically out of the league.

BEST STAT

Only four Canucks failed to register a shot. Three you'd expect. There was Dan Hamhuis, Chris

Tanev and Dale Weise. The fourth? Secondline winger Marco Sturm. Uh-oh.

Dirty hits? Cooke's a sniper now

Agitator spent offseason making adjustments to his gritty

game

By Jim Jamieson, The Province

Most were expecting to see Pittsburgh superstar Evgeni Malkin dominating the scoresheet, but

one-time Canucks agitator Matt Cooke stole the show at Rogers Arena on Thursday night.

Cooke, who's known more for his history of dirty hits than offensive production, stole the

spotlight - scoring two goals as the Penguins handed the Canucks a 4-3 shootout loss in the

season opener for both NHL teams.

Yes, Malkin did score the shootout clincher after a quiet game by his elevated standards, but the

night was Cooke's. He even took a pratfall coming out to acknowledge being chosen the game's

second star.

"The boys were trying to get me to go out and I rushed out and stepped on the (TV) cable," said

Cooke, with a laugh. "Whatever, humility is good sometimes."

Humility is what Cooke had forced on him in large doses last March when his elbow to the head

of Rangers forward Ryan McDonagh resulted in a massive suspension - for the final 10 games of

the regular season and the first round of the playoffs.

Cooke knows he has to continue to play a physical game, but knows that the new standard in the

NHL regarding targeted hits to the head under the amended Rule 48 means he must alter his

approach.

He worked on it over the summer, going over video with Penguins coaching staff and getting a

clear idea of how he must change his game. Starting off with a two-goal game - one on the power

play and another shorthanded - is a good way to kick off what he hopes is Matt Cooke 2.0.

"When you go through tough times and you're in a situation where it's desperation and you have

success early it makes it that much easier to feel good about what you're doing," said Cooke, who

had three shorthanded goals last season. "If I didn't score two goals tonight and the result was the

same, I'd still feel good about what was happening. It just makes it sweeter."

But Cooke said he's confident he's ready to play in the NHL's new environment regarding head

hits, though he knows it's a process.

"I'm not even thinking it's complete," he said. "It's going to be a work in progress this whole

season. I can't think that one game is enough. It's a start and it gets me on the right track.

"I spent a lot of time last season preparing for the second round of the playoffs. Unfortunately,

we didn't get there and I didn't get a chance to play. But it didn't stop there. It continued through

the summer, the coaching staff has been great helping me analyze what needs to change and

prepare myself. I'm confident right now."

This was the second time Cooke has been back to Vancouver - a city where he played parts of

nine seasons - but the first time he felt comfortable.

"The last time I was here it was an emotional time for me," he said. " I felt like I'd played my

whole career here in Vancouver and had kind of ingrained myself in the city. It was emotional.

The last time I came here I wasn't ready, but now I think a lot of the angst I had is gone and I can

focus now on the good times I had here and the good people here in the city."

Cooke gave Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead on the power play at 12: 30 of the first period when Pascal

Dupuis centred the puck to him from behind the Vancouver goal and he quickly fired it past

Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo.

After Max Lapierre brought Vancouver to within a goal late in the first, Cooke made it 3-1 at 3:

09 of the second period when he came down on Kevin Bieksa shorthanded and snapped a shot

past Luongo from the right circle.

MALKIN SCORES IN SHOOTOUT; PENS DEFEAT CANUCKS IN SHOOTOUT

THE CANADIAN PRESS

VANCOUVER - After years of playing the villain, Matt Cooke relished the chance to be a hero.

Cooke swears he's trying to shake his label as the most disliked player in the NHL. He's off to a

good start by scoring two goals for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and staying out of the penalty box,

in a 4-3 shootout win over the Vancouver Canucks to open the NHL season Thursday night.

"I'm just trying to have the best game I can,'' Cooke said after the win. "You just try to roll with

what ever comes.

"I feel a sense of joy being out there with my teammates and being able to help them play.

Fortunately, tonight I was able to chip in offensively.''

Evgeni Malkin scored the deciding goal in the shootout after the Canucks twice battled back

from two-goal deficits.

Malkin waited for Canuck goaltender Roberto Luongo to go down, then lifted a shot over him.

Kris Letang also scored in the shootout for Pittsburgh. Vancouver shooters Mikael Samuelsson

and Alex Burrows both missed their chances

Luongo felt he should have stopped Malkin.

"I could have been a little more patient,'' said Luongo, who stopped 25 shots but allowed a

couple of soft goals.

"I was trying to wait him out but they went backhand both times and over my pad.''

It was a frustrating way for the Stanley Cup finalist Canucks to start the season. Vancouver

looked tentative early. Several of the players appeared nervous and fought the puck.

It took almost 40 minutes for Vancouver to show the speed and finesse the team used to win the

Presidents' Trophy last season and advance to the final against the Boston Bruins.

"That's what happens when you're not playing your best hockey, you lose games in overtime and

shootouts,'' said captain Henrik Sedin, who had two assists.

"We were lucky to get back in this one.''

Daniel Sedin tied the game at 7:51 of the third with Pittsburgh being called for a delayed penalty.

He fired a hard shot over a diving Penguin defenceman into the short side of the net.

Defenceman Keith Ballard and centre Maxim Lapierre also scored for Vancouver.

Cooke scored on the power play and short-handed. James Neal also scored a power-play goal for

Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury kicked one puck into his own net, but looked solid most of the

night blocking 33 shots.

The crowd at Rogers Arena was announced as a sellout of 18,860, but there were many empty

seats. The building seemed quiet for the first half of the game but the fans began to make noise

by the third period.

Canuck coach Alain Vigneault said his team didn't quit.

"We didn't get off to the start we wanted at home,'' said Vigneault. "For the first 25 minutes of

this game they were the best team on the ice.

"Our guys gutted it out, down by two goals against an elite team, and played a real strong third

period and overtime.''

Pittsburgh opened the scoring on a shot that deflected off Luongo and into the goal.

Cooke's short-handed goal made it 3-1 early in the second period. He shot a puck through

defenceman Kevin Bieksa's legs from the top of the face-off circle that grazed Luongo's blocker

and went into the net.

For Canuck fans, seeing Luongo give up a couple bad goals brought back memories of last year's

Stanley Cup final.

Vigneault was quick to defend his goalie.

"Goaltenders are going to give up bad goals sometimes,'' he said. "It's part of the game and you

have to play through them.

"He has to play through them and the team has to play through them.''

For much of his career Cooke was known as a cheap-shot artist. He was a master at delivering a

dirty blow, then disappearing before anyone could get even.

Last March he was suspended for the final 10 games of the regular season and the first round of

the playoffs for an elbow to the head of Ryan McDonagh of the New York Rangers.

With the league cracking down on hits to the head, Cooke said he has learned his lesson. He has

watched video and worked with coaches to try and play clean.

One game is a short yardstick, but Cooke feels good about the changes he's made.

"When you have success early it makes it that much easier to feel good about what you're doing,''

he said.

"If I didn't score two goals tonight, and the result was the same, I would still feel good about

what was happening. It just makes it that much sweeter.''

Cooke played almost seven years in Vancouver, before being traded to Washington in 2008. He

signed with Pittsburgh as a free agent for the 2008-09 season.

He admits being traded caused some initial hard feelings.

"I think that time heals,'' he said. "It was an emotional time for me, I'm not going to lie.

"I felt like I had played my whole career in Vancouver. I had ingrained myself in the city. A lot

of the angst I had toward the organization and the city for the way it ended (is gone). Now I can

focus on the good times I had here. The good moments and all the good people that are in this

city.''

The Penguins played the game without captain Sidney Crosby who is still suffering from post-

concussion symptoms. Crosby is travelling with the Penguins and practised with his teammates

in Vancouver Wednesday. He still isn't sure when he will return.

Notes: GM Mike Gillis says centre Ryan Kesler, who underwent hip surgery during the summer,

could be ready to play in five or six games. ...It was the first time the Canucks hosted a season-

opening game against Pittsburgh. ...Canuck captain Henrik Sedin played in his 500th consecutive

game. ...Prior to the game the Canucks acknowledged representatives from police, firefighters,

medical personnel and citizens who helped during the June 15 Stanley Cup riot.

Canucks put the past behind

Mark Spector

VANCOUVER -- There is every chance we could be back here eight months from now.

Watching the magnificently talented Pittsburgh Penguins, and the equally skilled -- and now

equally steeled -- Vancouver Canucks play for it all in June.

But let‘s not fixate on the future for now, particularly after a summer spent stressing over how

those last two games played out for the Vancouver Canucks. And the riot. Don‘t forget the riot.

On Thursday, it was time simply to play some hockey, after a long B.C. summer spent talking

about the game, and the disappointment it can bring.

"It‘s really nice," defenceman Dan Hamhuis said of finally seeing a puck dropped in anger.

"There has been so much talk, concern and worry about our team. It‘s nice to start playing, put

an end to last year and focus on this year."

The tendency when you sit back down inside Rogers Arena, the site of so much blood-‗n‘-guts

hockey just a few months ago, is to try and visualize how high the mountain is; how long the

road between now, and the only "now" that is really going to matter for this Canucks team, long

after the tulips have bloomed.

With hockey this good however, can‘t we just let it play out?

"It was definitely faster than a first game of the season, I‘ll say that," said Penguins sniper Matt

Cooke, who had two goals. "They have a great squad. I know that the expectations for their team

is to be there in the end and that‘s similar to us. Those were two good teams going at it at a pretty

good pace."

No, it‘s not every day you get a season opener between two legitimate Cup contenders, a tilt that

ebbed and flowed through 65 minutes plus a shootout. Pittsburgh owned the starts of the periods,

Vancouver the latter halves. Cooke stole the show early with a pair of goals, but then Henrik

Sedin reminded us that he is a world-class passer, assisting on the two Vancouver goals that sent

a 3-1 game to a shootout.

Alas, the muscle memory that just won‘t let us move on belonged to Roberto Luongo, who found

himself standing in front of a bank of microphones and copping to having been out-goaltended.

So much for the theme of change.

A notoriously slow starter — and finisher, it seems — Luongo opened his season by letting one

in from south of the goal line. "Went off my stick, and my leg. Obviously, not the goal you want

to be giving up early in a game."

Then Cooke blistered one far-side past Luongo from the outer edge of the circle. It was a sniper‘s

goal, released slickly through Kevin Bieksa‘s feet, but as Luongo would admit, "there‘s no way

the guy should score from there. I‘ve got to make that save.

"I‘ve got to do a better job, as far as those goals are concerned."

Luongo was beaten twice in the shootout, on nearly identical backhand dekes by Kris Letang and

Evgeni Malkin — "I‘ve got to stop at least one of those," Luongo said — while Mike

Samuelsson and Alexandre Burrows were denied by Marc-Andre Fleury.

In the end, there was little to choose between these two powerhouses, shy of goaltending. Fleury

was better, and his team gets the extra point — a 4-3 shootout win — because of it.

So on a night when Luongo struggled in the redemption department, Cooke — who is being

touted as a man trying to remake an image from cheap-shot artist to useful, third-line winger —

made some gains. He is trying, it seems, to contribute more to this game than simply Rule 48.

"It‘s weird how things work and weird how the world works sometimes," the former Canuck said

after the game. "Obviously it (felt good). When you go through tough times and you‘re in a

situation that‘s desperate … when you have success early it makes it that much easier to feel

good about what you‘re doing."

Another player with change on his mind was Vancouver defenceman Keith Ballard, who became

Dr. Ballard last spring, so many nights did he spend in coach Alain Vigneault‘s doghouse. He

scored a beauty and rushed the puck well all night long, skills that will force Vigneault to soften

his stance on a player that even this fine defensive corps must find room for.

For Ballard, like the rest of the Canucks, it is time to stop talking about the past. Clean the slate.

You might like what you see.

"We‘ve been waiting for quite a while now, for the start of the season," said Sami Salo.

After the summer this game had, Sami, so have we. So have we all.

Canucks stumble out of the gate By HOSEA CHEUNG, QMI Agency

VANCOUVER - Less than four months ago at Rogers Arena, the Vancouver Canucks

experienced one of the toughest defeats in franchise history.

On the very same ice Thursday, the team left heartbroken by the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of the

Stanley Cup Final had an opportunity to take the first steps on the road to recovery.

Instead, they were caught flat-footed.

Thanks to a pair of goals by Matt Cooke, the Sidney Crosby-less Pittsburgh Penguins dropped

the reigning Presidents' Trophy winners 4-3 in a shootout. Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin both

scored in the extra-time relay while both Canucks shooters – Mikael Samuelsson and Alex

Burrows – were stopped.

―We didn‘t bury (our chances),‖ said Burrows, who finished with five shots and four hits. ―They

were playing a simple North-South game and we weren‘t getting back quick enough. We got

better and were able to push the pace.

―There‘s no need to panic. We‘re going to get better.‖

While a season-opening victory wouldn't have erased the crushing end to their quest for the

franchise's first NHL title last June nor the embarrassment the city faced in the riot aftermath, the

Canucks were at least hoping for a strong start to their 2011-12 campaign.

The loss was highlighted by Roberto Luongo's early struggles in the game and his inability to

stop either shot in the shootout.

Having been the brunt of much criticism following his inconsistent performance in the Cup final,

the Canucks goaltender allowed a couple of weak tallies, including the icebreaker from behind

the goal line.

With Kevin Bieksa serving a hooking penalty, James Neal skated in from the corner and banked

the puck off Luongo‘s stick and into the net.

―He fired and it went off my stick and it went in,‖ Luongo said. ―Obviously that‘s not the type

goal you want to be giving up early in the game.‖

Pittsburgh then doubled the lead more than seven minutes later when Matt Cooke one-timed

home a Pascal Dupuis pass from behind the net. After Maxim Lapierre pulled the hosts within

one goal later in the first period – also on shot from behind the net – Cooke scored his second of

the night while shorthanded in the second period. Goals from Keith Ballard and Daniel Sedin

sent the game to the shootout.

Luongo finished with 25 saves while his counterpart Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 33 of 36 shots,

including several big saves on Daniel Sedin and Alex Burrows.

―The boys battled hard,‖ Luongo said. ―We could have packed it but we stuck with it. The guys

worked hard to get it back to even and we had some chances to win the game and Fleury made

some good saves there.‖

The Canucks, who have now lost three straight season openers, went 0-for-three on the power

play. The Penguins went two-for-three.

Vancouver heads out on a four-game road trip starting Monday in Columbus while Pittsburgh

continues their Western swing with a visit to Calgary on Saturday.

Penguins edge Canucks in shootout

rod mickleburgh

VANCOUVER— Globe and Mail Update

The last time the Vancouver Canucks played a hometown game that counted, they were badly-

beaten, 4-0 losers in the seventh game of the Stanley Cup finals. Their decisive defeat at the

hands of the Boston Bruins sparked the worst riot in the city‘s history.

Thursday night, with the start of a new season, it was a chance for the Canucks to put the

summer‘s pain and bad memories behind them and re-launch their quest for the first Stanley Cup

in the team‘s 41st NHL season.

But despite a strenuous third period by the Canucks, last season‘s President Trophy winners, the

Pittsburgh Penguins prevailed over Vancouver 4-3 in an overtime shootout.

Pittsburgh‘s first two shooters, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin put the puck past netminder

Roberto Luongo, while Marc-Andre Fleury stopped Mikael Samuelsson and Alex Burrows of the

Canucks to seal the deal for the Penguins.

Pittsburgh‘s victory was spearheaded by a surprising effort from former Canuck Matt Cooke,

who scored two goals in his first regular season play since a 10-game suspension levied against

him at the end of last season.

Widely derided, even by his own team, for a succession of head shots against opponents over the

years, Cooke has been suspended five times for his actions. This summer, however, he vowed to

clean up his act and just play the game.

His pair of goals – one on the power play, another shorthanded – helped stake the Penguins to a

3-2 lead after two periods.

It was a shaky night for Luongo, who has weathered significant criticism in recent years for his

inconsistent play in the playoffs. He let in one soft goal, another that might have been stopped

and continued to have difficulty with shootouts, as both Letang and Malkin drew him out of

position before lifting the puck high into the net.

―I‘m sure he‘d be the first to say he‘d like to have two of those goals back,‖ Canucks coach

Alain Vigneault said of Luongo‘s play after the game.

―Goaltenders are going to give up bad goals, sometimes. But you have to play through it, he‘s

got to play through it, and at the end of the day, our guys battled through it, came back, and we

ended up with a point against a very good team.‖

On a positive note for Vancouver, fresh from successive scoring championships, the Sedin twins,

Henrik and Daniel, were in mid-season form. They dominated play, with linemate Burrows, on

many of their shifts, particularly late in the game.

Daniel Sedin tied the score at 3-3 in the third period, following sustained pressure in the

Pittsburgh zone, as he rifled the puck over Fleury‘s glove hand. Brother Henrik and rearguard

Sami Salo earned assists.

Afterwards, Daniel said he thought the team played fairly well, once the game went on.

―Defensively, we gave up a few too many chances, clear-cut chances, which shouldn‘t happen,

but I thought we battled back hard,‖ said the 2010-11 scoring champion and most valuable

player.

However, the season did get off to a rough start for the Canucks when Luongo let in a weak

power play goal just five minutes into the game, with winger James Neal banking the puck in

from behind the net.

The Canucks seemed rusty, perhaps reflective of the decision to have veterans play only two pre-

season games.

Showing more jump, Pittsburgh upped its lead to 2-0 on a second, first-period power play goal,

scored by Cooke on a nifty, quick pass from Pascal Dupuis.

Vancouver‘s new fourth line of Maxim Lapierre, Aaron Volpatti and just-arrived Dale Weise

was rewarded for some energetic play with the team‘s first goal of the season at 16.20. Lapierre

scored on a harmless shot that Marc-Andre Fleury knocked over the line with his leg.

In the second period, Cooke scored again, this time with the Penguins playing a man short. Using

Kevin Bieksa as a screen, he flared a hard shot past Luongo.

Vancouver narrowed the gap to 3-2 late in the second period on a picture-perfect passing play

started by defenseman Keith Ballard in his own zone. Ballard, who had a difficult first season

with Vancouver, then finished off a pair of passes by Daniel and Henrik Sedin that sent him into

the clear.

Shots on goal were 36-28 for Vancouver, including 15-6 in a strong third period by the Canucks.

Meanwhile, the June 15 riot was not forgotten. Before the game, the Canucks honoured

individuals prominent in keeping the city safe that night, and several who helped clean up the

morning after.

The team extolled them for demonstrating that they have ―the heart of a Canuck‖, the club‘s new

theme.

The ceremonial opening faceoff was performed by Rob MacKay, the first of thousands to scroll a

message on the sheets of plywood that replaced broken shop windows after the riot. In large

letters, MacKay wrote: ―On behalf of our team, and our city, I am sorry.‖

Pittsburgh played without superstar Sidney Crosby, still suffering from the concussion he

suffered last January. It was Crosby‘s first visit to Rogers Arena since he scored the thrilling

over-time goal to win gold for Canada‘s men‘s hockey team at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

But he was not in uniform.

TSN.CA / Identifying coaches who start season under pressure

Darren Dreger

10/6/2011 9:21:07 AM

It's called the "Hot Seat" and every coach understands its definition, although some jokingly refer to it as the "hit list". Plain and simply, the NHL coaches we are identifying are those under the most pressure entering the season. Some are more vulnerable than others. Toronto's Ron Wilson enters the regular season in the final year of his contract.

There has been no offer of an extension and no plan to negotiate until management gets a solid read on the direction of the Leafs. A bad start could spell the end of Wilson's four-year run in Toronto. Washington's Bruce Boudreau survived off-season speculation of his demise after another disappointing playoffs performance by the Caps. But, an early or mid-season slump could be enough to finally get Boudreau bounced. Calgary's Brent Sutter, Colorado's Joe Sacco and St Louis Blues coach Davis Payne are facing medium heat in their organizations. Following two seasons of non-playoff hockey, fans are restless in Calgary. The Flames should be better. If they're not, Sutter could be replaced.

Colorado is still very young, but capable of being competitive. If the Avs fail to meet that standard, Sacco will likely pay the price. And there's a complicating factor in Denver: GM Greg Sherman traded away the team's 2012 No. 1 draft pick to Washington for Semyon Varlamov; the worse the Avs do this year the higher the draft pick for the Caps. Payne's Blues should hold their own in a tough Western Conference, but with ownership uncertainty, St. Louis needs to be strong or Payne could be an easy mark if things go south early.

Meanwhile, three coaches facing back burner heat are Philadelphia's Peter Laviolette, Vancouver's Alain Vigneault and Montreal's Jacques Martin. The Flyers made drastic changes and spent a ton of money on Ilya Bryzgalov, so if the direction of this team stalls, or takes a turn for the worse, fingers will be pointed. Losing Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Championship to Boston only increased Vancouver's thirst to be first. And Martin is entering his third season in the pressure-packed Montreal hockey environment.

It's highly unlikely Vigneault or Martin would face the music during the regular season, but an early post-season exit might prompt change. This list of coaches on the hot seat may be too long, or too short, but when the regular season opens, the clock starts ticking.

TSN.CA LOADED: 10.07.2011