Highs and Lows

A Saturday afternoon showdown is an unusual thing for the Penguins this early in the season and it seemed to hold more hits than goals, at least on the Pens side of the scoreboard.

Early in the game, twenty-five seconds in to be exact, Matt Cook threw a clean hit in the offensive zone. The Canuck of the receiving end of the hit didn`t seem to like what the former Canuck had done. Jannik Hansen went after Cooke and started half of a line-brawl. Brooks Orpik and Tyler Kennedy also got involved along with Alexandre Burrows and Ryan Kesler. Cooke, Orpik, Burrows, and Hansen all received fighting majors while Kennedy and Kesler both received double minors for roughing. Cooke and Hansen were also ejected from the game.

Not much later Vancouver's starting goaltender Roberto Luongo went down with a groin injury and left the game. Back-up Curtis Sanford replaced him and received the win.

The Canucks got themselves on the board first, a Pavol Demitra goal at 18:05. The Sedin twins, Henrik and Daniel, assisted on the goal.

Daniel Sedin increased the Canucks lead to two at 6:50 of the second; the goal was assisted by his twin brother Henrik.

However early in the second Mike Zigomanis notched his second of the year Tyler Kennedy and Alex Goligoski assisted at :22.

The penalties continued even after the Canucks scored an empty-netter. The goal was scored by Pavol Demitra assisted by the Sedin twins at 19:48. Also at 19:48 Max Talbot and Mattias Ohlund received roughing calls.

The final buzzer had blown but that didn`t stop Mike Zigomanis and Shane O'Brien who were given five minute slashing majors and game misconducts at 20:00.

The three stars were 3.Mike Zigomanis, 2. Daniel Sedin 1. Pavol Demitra.

Ryan Whitney (foot), Sergei Gonchar (shoulder), and Marc-Andre Fleury (undisclosed) all missed the game along with healthy scratch Mark Eaton.

Next the Pens start a two game road-trip with a showdown against the Islanders on the Island. The opening face-off is set for 7:08 Wednesday night.