Canucks 1 Oilers 2

Early in the first period, Dany Sabourin looked like the second coming of Martin Brochu or Maxime Ouellet.

In other words, it was a horror show. Call it The Backup Blues, a movie Canuck fans have seen too many times.

In his Canuck debut Tuesday night, Sabourin was beat cleanly on the first shot he faced and two minutes later allowed another one as the Oilers got all the goals they would need on their first three shots and went on to beat Vancouver 2-1 at Rexall Place.

At least Dany Sabourin, playing in his first game of the year, had a reasonable excuse.

As for the rest of the Canucks, it remains unclear why they hit the ice flatter than a paper doll under a briefcase in a 2-1 loss to the Oilers, supposedly their heated rival. News that Roberto Luongo wasn't starting seemed to take the air out of their tires faster than police-issued road spikes.

In the first period of a battle of the backup goalies, the Canucks managed just five shots. In the second, they had four. Think Plasma flatscreen without colour -- without pixels for that matter. And, it's worth noting, this is a Canucks team that needed every one of 37 shots to manage just two goals in Monday's win.

1. Ethan Moreau (EDM): Scored to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead just 51 seconds in.
2. Steve Staios (EDM): 2 assists, 3 hits, 3 blocked shots and a +2 rating in 20:07 minutes of ice-time.
3. Mattias Ohlund (VAN): Was the best of the Canucks' defensemen, settling them down after allowing two quick goals to open the game. Led the team with 6 shots and 24:30 minutes of ice-time.

• For the first time in his career, Trevor Linden was a healthy scratch and he was not happy about it. (Jim Matheson, Victoria Times Colonist and Ed Willes, Vancouver Province)
• Once again, the Canucks were perfect (8-for-8) on the penalty-kill. They have now killed off 20 consecutive man-advantages.
• Markus Naslund's goal was his 301st as a Canuck. He has now passed Trevor for the franchise lead. (Not a good day for Trev.)
• I have to end on a positive note: overall, the Canucks did an admirable job at bouncing back from the two early goals and keeping the game within reach. Defensively, they limited the Oilers' chances and didn't give them many free shots at Dany Sabourin. It would have been the perfect road game had the offense also been able to contribute just one more goal.

About the game around the blogosphere

• As always, The Chief Canuck gives us the good, the bad, and the ugly from the game.
• Zanstrom from Waiting For Stanley is bummed out about the game, but at least got some free drinks from some mystery stranger at the bar. Nothing like free booze to help make you feel better.
• the prez at Hot-Oil reports from the game, and despite the win, was a bit critical of the Oilers.
• Ditto Andy Grabia from the Battle of Alberta. Tough crowd.
• The ever-entertaining Jordi from girls don't love hockey posts her thoughts on the game and more.

• Official Scoresheet
• Official Stat Sheet
• Shift Chart