^colin^

Last season the Canucks endured a sluggish October before a 12-1 stretch
in November helped vault them to the top of the Northwest Division.

The Vancouver Canucks believe they belong among the elite teams in the
NHL. A strong start to this season would help convince the rest of the
league.

Marc Crawford said. "Markus Naslund was one of our more physical
players, especially early in the game (vs. Calgary), and when you get that
sort of thing happening, it has a real ***ulative effect on the group."

The key figure in Vancouver's season again will be goaltender Dan
Cloutier, who looked sharp with 22 saves Thursday. The Canucks opened
Thursday with a 4-1 victory over visiting Calgary, as fourth-line center
Artem Chubarov scored the game-winner and set up Jarkko Ruutu's insurance
goal.

Edmonton also got its season off to a successful start Thursday with a
5-2 victory over San Jose.
Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish thought his fourth line of Torres, Shawn
Horcoff and Georges Laraque was the best of the night.

Getting the first goal Saturday would be a huge help to the Oilers, who
went 0-4-1 against the Canucks last season after giving up the first goal in
each game.

Go Canucks Go.


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