OCT.05.2006

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WAITING ON LUC

First-round pick Luc Bourdon will have to wait till Friday to make his much anticipated regular season debut with the Canucks.

In the first of a four game road trip, head coach Alain Vigneault will sit out rookie Luc Bourdon in favour of a more veteran presence in Rory Fitzpatrick.

Bourdon will likely debut tomorrow night in Columbus.


BLUELINE BLUEPRINT

After revolving bodies through most of the pre-season, the coaching staff has set on defensive pairings to start the year. Veterans Sami Salo and Mattias Ohlund will play together, while newcomers Lukas Krajicek and Willie Mitchell form the second unit. Kevin Bieksa and Rory Fitzpatrick will fill out the third pairing.

Salo, Ohlund, Krajicek, and Brendan Morrison will likely see the bulk of the minutes on the point on the power play.


BETWEEN THE PIPES

Roberto Luongo starts his first game as a Canuck tonight in the Motor City. Luongo is 1-4-1 lifetime against the Red Wings despite a very respectable 2.75 GAA and .931 save percentage.

Newly-acquired Dany Sabourin, who the Canucks claimed off waivers yesterday from Pittsburgh, joined the team in Detroit.


NEW SEASON, NEW NUMBERS

Forward Josh Green dispensed with his traditional jersey #36 in favour of #25 to start the year.

Donning the new shirt, Green joins other #25s Dan Kesa, Nathan La Fayette, Doug Lidster, and Mats Lindgren.

Ryan Kesler, who played with #20 all last season, will go back to his Moose roots, sporting #17 in Detroit.

Other notable #17s: Vladimir Krutov, Patrik Sundstrom, Ron Sedlbauer, and Jose Charbonneau.


THIS DAY IN HISTORY

October 5th, 1989, the Canucks opened their 20th NHL campaign with Igor Larionov and Vladimir Krutov in the line-up - the first ever Soviet players to appear in a Canuck uniform.


LINEUP @ DETROIT

Forward Lines
D. Sedin	H. Sedin	M. Naslund
T. Pyatt	B. Morrison	J. Bulis
A. Burrows	R. Kesler	M. Cooke
T. Santala	T. Linden	J. Green
Defence Pairings
S. Salo	M. Ohlund
L. Krajicek	W. Mitchell
K. Bieksa	R. Fitzpatrick
Goalies
R. Luongo - S	D. Sabourin

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