Game 1 - Pittsburgh Penguins at Vancouver Canucks

Rogers Arena

10:00 p.m. Eastern

Versus and CBC

"You do the math, I don’t know what to tell you.  I can’t answer that for you without being cocky."

-Roberto Luongo on his record versus the Eastern Conference

Math

Help I have fallen and can't get up

The Pens head to Vancouver tonight to start the season against the Vancover Canucks.  The Canucks are coming off of perhaps the most embarrassing home Game 7 loss in recent memory, especially after dominating Games 1, 2, and 5.

Any time you make it to the Cup Finals and lose, especially at home, it has to be devastating.  Some people take that and learn from it like the Penguins did in 2008.  Others see it as a chance to riot and maybe get lucky...

Looks like a scene from Spiderman

Either way, tonight two of the elite NHL teams will faceoff on opening night.  Is there really anything better than this?  Especially for Pens fans, after last season's concussed and torn dreams.

I'm Score ))))))

Half of the Mega Powers return to regular season action tonight.  Malkin was injured midway through last year and missed the rest of the season.  He's been training like a madman and that jump he had in 2008-2009 reappeared in the preseason.  Hopefully he maintains that through Crosby's absence and through the playoffs.

Penguins Lines from the Pens website

Sullivan-Malkin-Neal
Kunitz-Staal-Kennedy
Cooke-Letestu-Dupuis
Asham-Vitale-Adams

(Crosby skated with Park and MacIntyre)

Letang-Engelland
Niskanen-Lovejoy
Martin-Michalek 

Quick thoughts

-interesting to see how Fleury starts the season

-big role for Niskanen tonight

-How will Neal perform with a real top line center

-Kunitz - Staal - Kennedy was a sick line when Kunitz first came to Pittsburgh

Drop the Puck already

Go Pens