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Canucks, Pens battle in Vancouver

Oct 6, 2011 - 3:02 PM (Sports Network) - One of the highlights in the NHL's yearly schedule comes when Sidney Crosby makes his annual trip to Western Canada, but injury will prevent one of the league's brightest stars from taking to the Rogers Arena ice on opening night.

Dealing with their own injuries, the Vancouver Canucks won't mind Crosby sitting this one out as the Stanley Cup runner-ups open up the 2011-12 season against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Crosby has not played since January due to a concussion and will open the season on injured reserve as his return date is still up in the air. He did travel with the team but is not likely to play on the swing.

"I'm looking forward to getting on the road and starting the season," Crosby said. "I'm happy to be out there and when the time comes I'll make sure I'm ready, but to be honest, I'm just happy to be out there and working hard. For a long time I wasn't able to do that, so it's just nice to be out there and going hard."

The Penguins will try to get their season off on the right foot without their captain and were able to register 106 points a season ago despite Crosby playing in just 41 games.

That point total was the club's highest since a 119-point campaign in 1992-93, but the absence of both Crosby and Evgeni Malkin due to a knee injury led to Pittsburgh being eliminated by Tampa Bay in the opening round of the postseason.

While Crosby remains out, Malkin will be back in a Penguins uniform for the first time since suffering his season-ending injury on Feb. 4. He'll try to boost an offense that was still led by Crosby's 66 points despite the center missing half the season.

Defenseman Kris Letang was Pittsburgh's next-highest scorer with 50 points and Chris Kunitz's 23 goals ranked second to Crosby's 32.

Pittsburgh will also have center Jordan Staal tonight after his 2010-11 debut was delayed until the Winter Classic because of injury, while the club is also hoping for bigger things this year from James Neal. Acquired from Dallas last February, Neal only had six points in 20 games after the trade.

Blueliner Brooks Orpik, meanwhile, is questionable due to hernia surgery.

The Penguins also added veteran winger Steve Sullivan this offseason, but their early success could depend on goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who put the club on his shoulders last year by going 36-20-5 with a career-best 2.32 goals-against average in 65 games.

Pittsburgh, which will also visit Calgary and Edmonton over the weekend, will face a Vancouver squad tonight that is playing for the first time since its Game 7 loss to the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Canucks captured the Presidents' Trophy last year with a league-high 117 points, but couldn't win one last home game versus the Bruins.

Roberto Luongo opens the season in net for the Canucks with a bit of a chip on his shoulder. He earned a Vezina Trophy nomination with a 38-15-7 regular- season mark and 2.11 GAA before posting four shutouts in the playoffs, but was also lifted twice during the finals and gave up 20 goals in the seven games.

Luongo will be missing some key pieces in front of him. Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff departed the club this offseason to sign a 10-year deal with Buffalo, while reigning Selke Trophy winner Ryan Kesler will miss the first month or so of the season due to offseason hip surgery. Kesler notched a career-high 41 goals last year and returned to practice for the first time on Wednesday, but won't rush himself back before he's ready.

"I love to compete and I love to win," said Kesler. "When you've got to be patient like this it's definitely tough for me, but I know what's best is to be patient, listen to my body, listen to my hip and once I feel comfortable enough out there to play a game, I'm going to."

Vancouver will also open the season minus Mason Raymond because of a broken vertebra suffered during last year's Stanley Cup Finals, but do return a potent 1-2 punch in twins Henrik and Daniel Sedin, with the former set to skate in his 500th straight regular-season game tonight.

Team captain Henrik won the Hart and Art Ross Trophies with 112 points in 2009-10, and he added 94 points (19 goals, 75 assists) last season, while Daniel set career highs with 41 goals and 63 assists a year ago to capture his own Art Ross Trophy. However, the duo was held to five points versus the Bruins in the Cup Finals.

With Kesler out, Cody Hodgson is expected to hold the role of second-line centerman for the Canucks. The 10th overall pick of the 2008 draft had two points in eight regular-season games last year.

Vancouver will hit the road for four in a row following tonight's game and had a two-game series win streak over Pittsburgh snapped with last season's loss in the Steel City. The Canucks have still won three of their last four at home against the Penguins, including a 6-2 win on Jan. 16, 2010 in which Henrik Sedin logged a goal and two assists.