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Wednesday, 17 November 2010 10:00

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

A preview of the Canucks.

When and where: 7 p.m., Consol Energy Center.

TV: FSN Pittsburgh, TSN, RDS.

Record: 10-4-3, 23 points. The Canucks are in third place in the Western Conference and first place in the Northwest Division.

Leading Scorer: Daniel Sedin, 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists). His twin brother Henrik also has 23 points (2 goals, 21 assists).

Last Game: 4-3 overtime road loss to the Sabres, Monday. Daniel Sedin had a goal and two assists for the Canucks

Last Game against the Penguins: 6-2 home win, Jan. 16. Alexander Pechurskiy made 12 saves in his NHL debut for the Penguins.

Canucks Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Dan Hamhuis (above). The would-be Penguins defenseman has six points in six career games against the team which courted him as a potential free agent this summer.

Ex-Penguins on the Canucks: Mikael Samuelsson, RW.

Ex-Canucks on the Penguins: Matt Cooke, LW.

Useless Canucks Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: The only player to wear No. 52 for the Canucks was former Penguins defenseman Sven Butenschon.

Best Canucks Video We Could Find: Matt Cooke, then of the Canucks, sending Game 7 of a 2004 Western Conference quarterfinal series with the Flames to overtime by scoring a goal with 5.7 seconds left in the third period:

Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (3-6-1, 3.07 GAA, .873 SV%) for the Penguins and Roberto Luongo (7-4-2, 2.66 GAA, .914 SV%) for the Canucks.

Injuries: For the Penguins, defenseman Paul Martin (undisclosed) is probable. Forward Jordan Staal (hand) and defenseman Alex Grant (wrist) are on injured reserve. For the Canucks, defenseman Dan Hamhuis (foot) is probable. Defenseman Ryan Parent (groin) is out. Forwards Alexandre Bolduc (ankle), Guillaume Desbiens (hand) and defenseman Sami Salo (ankle) are on injured reserve.

Potential lines and defensive pairings:

-The Penguins' primary lines and defensive pairings during yesterday's practice were:

The Canucks' primary lines and defensive pairings in Monday's game against the Sabres were:

Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Alex Burrows
Mason Raymond - Ryan Kesler - Mikael Samuelsson
Raffi Torres - Manny Malhotra - Jannik Hansen
Tanner Glass - Mario Bliznak - Rick Rypen

Kevin Bieksa - Alexander Edler
Andrew Alberts - Christian Ehrhoff
Dan  Hamhuis - Aaron Rome

Notes:

-Martin skipped yesterday's practice as he was "a little banged up" according to Dan Bylsma. He is expected to play tonight (PG+).

-There's at least one special teams unit on the Penguins doing well.

-Malkin has 248 career regular season assists and 398 career regular season points.

-If you're a fan of faceoffs, this is the game for you. Crosby (57.4 percent) and Malhotra (62.7 percent) are two of the best (PG+).

-Crosby and Luongo will be on the same sheet of ice for the first time since:

-The Penguin will be wearing their "dreaded" blue throwback jerseys tonight.

-After being a healthy scratch for four games, Ballard, a member of the exclusive "I fought Sidney Crosby" Society, will be back in the lineup. Alberts or Rome are expected sit in his place.

-Hamhuis skipped practice yesterday and rested his ailing foot.

-Regarding Hamhuis, if you felt mad at Michalek for falling down and allowing the Rangers to scoring overtime Monday, Hamhuis had a far more brutal play which led to the Sabres scoring in overtime that night:

-If you want to see what a successful power play looks like with a one-time MVP in the lineup, don't miss this game. The Henrik Sedin and the Canucks have a 29.2 percent success rate with the man advantage.

-Kesler has 97 career regular season goals.

-Our live blog begins at approximately 6 p.m. Please tune in.

(Photo: Harry How/Getty Images)

Comments (4)

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written by eman41, November 17, 2010 - 09:40 AM

I'm all about the Blue jerseys if it helps them win at home (which seems almost impossible).

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written by nctarheel, November 17, 2010 - 01:23 PM

Aren't the blue jerseys 2-0 this season? I say this season is so weird that the Pens will make it 3-0 tonight.

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written by Bones, November 17, 2010 - 02:33 PM

How much of the Canucks power play success can be attributed to the magic psychic twin powers that the Sedin's seem to possess with one another? The NHL should force them to play on different teams for the sake of parity.

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written by waxtell, November 17, 2010 - 03:54 PM

Wonder twin powers activa... nevermind.

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