OCT.17.06

The Canucks drove to the airport and immediately boarded a plane following last night's 2-1 win at GM Place.

The team didn't get to the hotel till 2 am, and had to stomp snow off their shoes when they did. Cold way to start a five-game road trip, though pulling another two points out of Edmonton might make it easier to manage.

The biggest news out of Rexall Place today came from between the red pipes.

Head coach Alain Vigneault says 26-year-old back-up Dany Sabourin will get the start in goal - his first as a Canuck.

"We want to get him in and show us what he can do," said Vigneault.

The Canucks picked Sabourin off waivers from Pittsburgh in early October.

He has five games NHL experience and no wins, but earned the Baz Bastien Trophy last year in the AHL as the league's best goalie.

"I feel ready," said Sabourin. "But I have to, because it's going to be like this all season. I'm not going to play a lot of back-to-back games."

"Edmonton is going to be a good test for me. It's a great opportunity."

Roberto Luongo gets his first break after winning three games, losing two, and dropping another in a shootout.

At the other end the Oilers will dress Jussi Markkanen.

Luc Bourdon will watch from the stands again in Edmonton. He's dressed for two games since making the team out of training camp and logged a total of 12:38 of ice.

Trevor Linden will keep him company as Vigneault dresses Tommi Santala. It'll be Santala's fourth game in blue. A cult-hero on the Canucks message-board, the Finnish pivot has one assist and has averaged 6:13 per game. His 78.6 per cent in the face-off circle is tops among all Canucks.

In case you missed it, CBC's Hockey Night In Canada has added the Canucks Oct. 21st game at Nashville to the broadcast schedule. Game time is 5 pm.

With CBC picking up Nashville, all but one Canuck game will be televised this season. That's a far cry from the 80's when most night's it was Pacific Coliseum or bust.