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Sabourin, Letang help Penguins top Canucks in shootout

Dec 9, 2007 - 7:20 AM VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Ticker) -- Sidney Crosby may have stole the headlines coming into the game, but it was a former Canuck that stole the show.

Dany Sabourin stopped 35 shots and then made some critical saves in the shootout, allowing defenseman Kris Letang to score the decisive goal in the sixth round of the bonus format as the Pittsburgh Penguins edged the Vancouver Canucks, 2-1, on Saturday night.

Petr Sykora tallied in regulation for Pittsburgh, which has won four straight games, including consecutive road contests in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver over the past four days.

"That was awesome," Sabourin said. "It was good for our team, too. For me personally, playing against my old teammates, that was a lot of fun."

With both goaltenders looking sharp in the shootout, Letang was able to deke Vancouver's Roberto Luongo and slide the puck under his arm to end the game. Letang also scored the decisive goal in the bonus format of Thursday's win over the Flames.

"I had a chance to get the game-winner like last (game against Calgary)," Letang said. "I put a move in my head and I just made it."

"We're going to stick with our plan, but there's no doubt he's got the skill to do it in the shootout," Penguins coach Michel Therrien said of Letang. "He did it (Thursday) and he did it again today."

Erik Christensen got the shootout off to a good start for Pittsburgh, beating Luongo with a wrist shot in the first round. Trevor Linden, however, answered in the third round with a quick wrister that found the top of the net.

Sabourin, who served as Luongo's backup in Vancouver last season, made some crucial saves against his former teammates in the shootout.

"I kind of knew what they were trying to do," Sabourin said. "I knew Trev was going to shoot low blocker side. I don't know why I didn't cheat a little bit more on the blocker side."

Crosby had a chance to win it in overtime, but his penalty shot was stopped by Luongo.

The 20-year-old superstar was taken down by defenseman Aaron Miller while on a breakaway. After a timeout by Pittsburgh, Crosby skated in and deked to the forehand but was denied by a sprawling Luongo.

"First one, I thought I had him," Crosby said. "I look back and get it up a little bit more and it's a goal. Second one (in the shootout), I probably rushed a little bit more because the puck started to dribble on me.

"Those are opportunities that you thrive on. You hope to get those opportunities. Unfortunately, it didn't go in, but for other guys to step up, it's great."

It was Crosby's first visit to Vancouver in his three-year career. He has now played in each of the NHL's 30 arenas.

Crosby received a rude welcome from defenseman Willie Mitchell, who high-sticked the Penguins' captain just 43 seconds into the contest. Mitchell was given a double-minor penalty on the play.

"I expected that, especially on this trip," Crosby said. "There was no hiding the fact we were coming to town. I think all three games (in Western Canada) have been pretty much a playoff atmosphere."

Luongo kept the Canucks in the game through much of the first half of the contest, making several brilliant saves in the first two periods. He denied Sykora's point-blank shot in the first with a sliding glove save.

Sykora would get his revenge later in the period, notching his 10th goal of the season. After sending a drop pass to Evgeni Malkin, Sykora dashed toward the net, received a return saucer pass and put a one-timer past Luongo.

The Penguins nearly doubled their lead just over seven minutes into the second period. With Pittsburgh controlling the puck in the offensive zone, Crosby sent a cross-crease pass to Ryan Malone, who looked to have an easy tap-in but was stymied by the toe of Luongo.

The momentum turned toward the Canucks after a two-minute 4-on-4 near the midway mark of the second. The combo of Daniel and Henrik Sedin controlled the majority of the play in the offensive zone, generating several scoring chances on Sabourin.

The Canucks finally broke through and tied the game early in the third session, when Ryan Kesler's shot from slot bounced off the left goalpost and in at 3:40.

"I thought that we should've had two points tonight," Kesler said. "I thought we struggled in the beginning a bit. It felt like the puck wasn't going our way, felt like it was bouncing out there. We battled back hard in the second and third, and we just came up short."