GDT: 12/08/07 Nucks and Penguins CBC 7PM

[B. Mackin]

The sloganeers are here, hoping for 1.5 seconds of fame on Hockey Night in Canada.

Crosby can't
Beat
Canucks

also
I'd Give A Kidney to Make Out With Sidney.

[UpYerKilt]

Kesler has a great wrist shot off the rush...his speed allows him room to get it off...add to that it's deadly accurate....what a combination.

Great game.... dont always need 6 goals.

[B. Mackin]

For the second game in a row, Sidney Crosby is held pointless by a Northwest division team.
His penalty shot after Aaron Miller pulled him down on a breakaway was just wide. Roberto Luongo got his glove on the puck to prevent a rebound.
Overtime ended with the puck on Crosby's stick, but a second too late for him to make a wraparound attempt.

[DonCherry4PM]

Pyatt - are you kidding me.....

[DonCherry4PM]

Does the Nucks' lack of legitimate triggermen ever show up in the shootout. Thankfully, for the most part, it is a team game.

Mr. Linden though - talk about a true clutch player - that is why he still wears a Canucks uniform. If only he were 10 years younger.

Good for Sabourin. Always did like him in his time here. Also very nice to see the Penguins playing out west. Too bad we only get to play them once or twice a year - looks like there could be some real rivalry there if given a few more games.

[Badfish]

The sloganeers are here, hoping for 1.5 seconds of fame on Hockey Night in Canada.

Crosby can't
Beat
Canucks

also
I'd Give A Kidney to Make Out With Sidney.

My favorite by far was:
Sidney who?
I'm here for Rutu

[levelheaded]

What a game eh?

Too bad we didn't win, but it certainly lived up to its billing. I was on the edge of my seat the entire night. Can't say that's happened very often this year. At least we got the point.

Sid the Kid with a penalty shot on Luongo in OT? You can't write this stuff.

That game had everything, makes you yearn for the days of the tie.

[B. Mackin]

There was indeed a massive standing ovation for Luongo, as fans walked out on his third shootout loss of the season. The shootout is apparently not among Alain Vigneault's special teams strategies. The only saving grace? The Pens are an Eastern conference team, so the point they took away will not harm the Canucks' standings.

[B. Mackin]

Penguins 2 Canucks 1 (SO)
Bob Mackin

Buzz:
Rookie Kris Letang upstaged his superstar teammate Sidney Crosby and gave the Pittsburgh Penguins a 2-1 shootout win over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. Letang, 20, also scored the determining goal in Thursday’s 2-1 win at Calgary.

Sid Watch:
Crosby’s first game in Vancouver went like this: one shot, two missed shots, a minor penalty and five of 16 in faceoffs. His first shift ended with a high stick to the face from Willie Mitchell, who got the game’s first penalty. Crosby was 0-for-two in penalty shots on Roberto Luongo. He missed a chance to end the game with 2:29 left after Aaron Miller pulled him down on a breakaway. Overtime ended with the puck on Crosby’s stick deep in the Vancouver zone, but no time left to make a wraparound. He had another chance to end the game in the shootout’s third round, but Luongo came up with another save.

Sid Speaks:
“The first (penalty shot), I thought I had it, I looked back and if I get it up a bit more it’s a goal. The second one I probably rushed a bit more because the puck rolled on me. Those are opportunities you thrive on.â€￾

Lamplighters:
Regulation time goals came from Pittsburgh’s Petr Sykora in the first period and Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler in the third.

Goat of the Game:
Despite stopping 31 of 32 Penguins’ shots, Luongo was nutmegged by Letang in round six of the shootout and is now 0-for-three in the showdown tiebreaker this season. The previous two losses were against the Edmonton Oilers.

Stupid Game Stat:
Saturday was Penguins’ goaltender Dany Sabourin’s first start at GM Place, despite spending the 2006-2007 season with the Canucks. He was 2-5 in nine regular season games and made two no-decision playoff appearances for Vancouver. The second was his crucial appearance in relief of a suddenly ill Luongo to start overtime in game five of the Western conference final against Anaheim. It took until Dec. 9, 2006 for Sabourin to play four games with Vancouver. Saturday was his 13th for the Penguins. He is now 6-5.
“Roberto made me better playing with him last year and Sidney makes me better this year, when he shoots against me all the time in practice,â€￾ Sabourin said.

What Rhymes With Sidney:
Fan sign in the south end: “I’d Give A Kidney to Make Out With Sidneyâ€￾

Class Act:
Last time the Canucks hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 9, 2003, they called on University of B.C. Thunderbirds’ goaltender Chris Levesque as an emergency backup because Dan Cloutier pulled a groin in practice. Levesque took a few hours out of exam studies at Point Grey for a storybook trip downtown to the NHL. He almost saw action when Canucks’ starter Johan Hedberg went down in a collision. Levesque didn’t know what was going on initially.
“I couldn’t even see what was going on, (Todd) Bertuzzi was standing up and obviously you can’t see through that guy,â€￾ he said during a first intermission interview shown on the GM Place scoreboard.

Next up:
The Canucks begin a three-game, four-night tour of California against the Los Angeles Kings on Monday (7:30 p.m. Team 1040/Sportsnet).

[SRsez]

And yet again, Kesler's the best player for the Canucks, while our six million dollar man is invisible.

[levelheaded]

And yet again, Kesler's the best player for the Canucks, while our six million dollar man is invisible.

Are you seriously saying that Naslund was invisible? I thought him and the Sedins were the only line that even vaguely threatened, and it hadn't been for the momentum shift they create Kesler would never have scored. Kess did a good job shutting down Crosby, but other than the goal he scored he was invisible offensively. Naslund on the other hand, while not all world, did a pretty good job leading our offence.

[dangler]

Loved this game,It had everything in it that makes this game great. Pyatt however looked like he needs a couple of games in the pressbox .

The shoot-out and O/T were awesome, to bad the 'nucks lost

[sic puppy]

Too bad the schedule only allows us west coasters a look see at the East coast teams every couple of years. Some excellent young talent on the Pengiuns team.

Luongo is clearly an elite player. He held the Nux in this game when it seemed they were skating in quick sand due to their latest scheduling nightmare until the team was able to generate some energy.

At times it seemed the Pens were going to blow out the Whales. Even their energy line with Laraque dominated at times. But Roberto was equal to the onslaught.

While the Nux did have a chance in OT and the SO, Luongo stole a point in this game and garners a new appreciation from this fan.

[SRsez]

Are you seriously saying that Naslund was invisible?

Naslund on the other hand, while not all world, did a pretty good job leading our offence.

Leading them where, exactly? Our offense, in case you weren't paying attention, was terrible last night. Okay, maybe it was a "road game at home", and thus can be forgiven, but that doesn't get sugar coated to "pretty good job".

Kess did a good job shutting down Crosby, but other than the goal he scored he was invisible offensively.

You're on drugs, right? Which ones?

Kesler scored the tying goal. He made Crosby 0-0-0 & -1. You're suggesting he didn't do enough? That Naslund somehow did better?

Are you sure you're not GM masquerading around as LH?