I'm not a Canucks fan, per se, as much as I am several of their players and/or their talent; Luongo of course, The Sedins, Bieksa, Burrows.........can root for them anytime except when they face my team :-)
So.............here's a few warmups, and of course, it's primarily Luongo, because being a goalie girl, he's one of my all time favorite goalies. So here he comes.....
Oh boy, there's always one :)
Hey, Bobby Lu
I just liked this view down the ice
Henrik Sedin
More Bobby Lu looking all warrior
Um, yeah, I'm taking like 1000 of you, but hey, look over your right shoulder!
Whatcha looking at?
Maybe he likes the arena?
And then there's Schneider, another favorite
Henrik did the coolest thing. He took pucks on his stick and purposely made sure they got over the glass and to the kidlets that were adoring him!
PEKKA!!! My very favorite! Next to MOOSE, of course!
A little bit of Hamhuis
More Bieksa
Ok, I know, but now he's in net taking some shots
Hey Cap!
And now for some Schneider, who I also admire
Is Schneider seeing something on his mitt?
More Bieksa
Maxim Lapierre
Chris Higgins
More Hamhuis
Alexandre Burrows
And Gnash drops in
Game Time! Opening Face Off
And Preds start hammering Luongo
The Vancouver Canucks beat the Nashville Predators at their own game. The Canucks out-defended the NHL's stingiest defense in their own building on Friday night, limiting the Predators to just 10 shots after the first period. Fourth-liner Dale Weise scored midway through the third period and Roberto Luongo finished with 23 saves as the Canucks left Bridgestone Arena with a 1-0 victory.
The Predators win by playing shutdown defense in front of All-Star goaltender Pekka Rinne. On Friday, the Canucks used the same formula -- but executed it just a little better.
Neither team scored until Maxim Lapierre circled the net, came out into the lower right circle and fired a shot that hit Rinne's pads. The rebound came right to Weise, who ripped it into the open left side at 9:14 of the final period for his first goal of the season and just the fifth of his NHL career.
Luongo stopped 13 shots in the opening period, but spent large chunks of the last two periods without a lot to do as the Canucks stifled the Predators at every opportunity to win for the second time in as many nights. Cory Schneider was in goal for Thursday's 4-3 win at Dallas, which ended Vancouver's three-game losing streak.
Luongo was a lot busier than Rinne in the first 20 minutes as the Predators outshot Vancouver 13-3. He made an excellent save on a right-point blast through traffic by Shea Weber midway through the period and stopped four shots during a late power play, including a jam try by Patric Hornqvist after a save on Martin Erat's close-in opportunity.
Gnash getting the crowd excited!
Rinne finished with 23 saves in a game that saw few scoring opportunities for either team.
But the Canucks got their legs under them in the second period and began to get the better of the play, though they outshot the Predators just 9-5.
HEY LUONGO, NICE stream there, with your "G"!
Rinne was tested for the first time 6:13 into the middle period when he moved out to the top of the crease to take Jannik Hansen's 30-foot blast in the midsection after Hansen took the puck away from Colin Wilson in the Nashville zone.
Rinne also denied the Sedin twins in quick succession with 8:40 left in the period, denying Daniel's short backhander and stopping Henrik on the rebound.
After Weise's goal put Vancouver ahead, Wilson had the Predators' best chance with 6:49 remaining when he was left alone in the slot, but he fired over the net. Nashville also had a late power play when Alexandre Burrows was called for slashing with 2:13 left but didn't get a shot on goal despite pulling Rinne to get a 6-on-4 skating advantage. Mike Fisher had a chance in the slot with just under a minute left but fired high.
Vancouver defenseman Kevin Bieksa left the game in the second period with a lower-body injury and did not return. He played 9:31 and had two shots on goal.
The shutout was the second of the season for Luongo and the 62nd of his career, second among active goaltenders to New Jersey's Martin Brodeur, who has 120.
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Winning Goaltender |
Losing Goaltender |
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
