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By Josh Martin, Sports Editor

down in Canuck history and will

be remembered by fans for years
to come. Well, maybe not for the
result of the game but definitely for
the passing of the ‘C’ from the very
first captain Orland Kurtenbach to
forward Henrik Sedin, who became
the 13" Canuck captain in franchise
history.

It was quite the moment to start
the year off, with the 40" anniversary
celebrations and the Canucks and
L.A. Kings putting on the old school
retro jerseys without the names on
the back. Henrik joins that class of
leaders who have all been the heart
and soul of the Canucks organization
throughout the years. Henrik was
the obvious choice on the team to
relieve Roberto Luongo of his duties,
coming off the best year of his 10

|: was a season opener that will go

season career, winning both the Hart
Memorial and the Art Ross trophies.

Henrik chose his supporting
cast of alternate captains which
include his brother Daniel, Kevin
Bieksa, Manny Malhotra and Ryan
Kesler. Bieksa was an interesting
choice, having been a main topic of
discussion in trade rumours in the
off-season. It will definitely mix
things up with the coaching staff and
possibly help Bieksa to stick around
with the team, especially when Sami
Salo returns from his injury.

With such a grand ceremony at
the start of the night, the result of
the game wasn’t exactly what the
Canucks wanted, however one has
to look at the positives. Luongo had
a stellar game up until the shootout,
but who can really blame him for
getting scored on? There is so much
pressure in the shootout, with the
game on the line where you have

Henrik takes on the “C”

to make a save in order for your
team to stay alive. It’s tremendous.
Luongo is playing deeper in his

net which is obviously working for
the goaltender. He has had solid
performances and some great saves
that were dearly missed last post-

season that should be accounted for.

It looks as though, the decision that
he made of giving up the captaincy
has been paying off so far.

The Sedin’s have picked up
right where they left off last season
being the effective force that they
are alongside line-mate Mikael
Samuelsson. Once Alex Burrows,
who is expected to return next
month, comes back it will solidify
the line-up a little more, with

Samuelsson going back to the second

line and either Jannik Hansen or
Raffi Torres trickling down to the
third.

On a side note, Derek Stepan

 

on the New York Rangers scored

a hat-trick in his very first NHL
game against the Buffalo Sabres last
Saturday night. The young 20 year
old became only the fourth player in
NHL history to pull off three goals
in their debut. What a game for the
rookie.

 

 

 

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