VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Growing up in nearby Abbottsford, B.C., Derek Grant's mother was a big fan of the hometown Vancouver Canucks. So, naturally, her son just had to be a fan of the ... Colorado Avalanche.
Sure, it might have made for some hard feelings in '04 following the Todd Bertuzzi-Steve Moore incident, but Grant says he wasn't being a contrarian just to tick off his mom.
Like a lot of young hockey players in British Columbia, Grant's favorite player was Avalanche captain Joe Sakic, or "Burnaby Joe" as he's known throughout the province.
"A good role model and a good leader and a heckuva hockey player," Grant said of his childhood hero, who now serves as Colorado's general manager. "If you were to ask 10 kids, I betcha a good portion would say he was their No. 1."
Well, Grant might not be a superstar like Sakic was but he was a hero on Saturday to a large group of special-needs kids, who cheered his every move during the morning skate at Rogers Arena.
The 28-year-old journeyman says he works a couple of hockey camps in the summer in British Columbia, including one for children with learning disabilities that are unable to play in regular youth hockey organizations.
"Every time I try to come here, I try to get them out for a morning skate," Grant said. "They have a blast with it. It's a cool experience for them. Hopefully put some smiles on those kids' faces."
When the Penguins face the Canucks later tonight, Grant will have a few friends and family in the seats at Rogers Arena, but fortunately he didn't have to buy too many tickets since most made the trip to see him make his Penguins debut Thursday night in Calgary.
Against the Flames, Grant was a plus-1 while throwing a team-high three hits over 10:36 of ice time in a 9-1 win. While he was satisfied with his performance, he was mostly glad to just play after being a healthy scratch the previous seven games.
"It was great," said Grant, who will once again center a line with Dominik Simon and Daniel Sprong. "I think you have to be patient when you’re not playing. Have to stay in shape, and our trainers do a good job of that so you're ready to go. Obviously timing and game-timing and stuff is a little bit different than practice. That's something you get better at as you play more games. But I felt good overall. That was a big win for us."
Pittsburgh is Grant's sixth team after having previously spent time in the Ottawa, Calgary, Buffalo, Nashville and Anaheim organizations. Last season he scored a dozen goals for the Ducks in just 66 games, leading him to sign a one-year, $650,00o contract with the Penguins in free agency.
THE ESSENTIALS
THE INJURIES
• Penguins: Add Derick Brassard to the injured list. Sullivan confirmed that Brassard will miss tonight's game and is day-to-day with a lingering lower body injury. "It's been something that he's been dealing with for a few games," Sullivan said. Playing left wing on the top line Thursday in Calgary, Brassard recorded a season-high three assists vs. the Flames but, for what it's worth, was seen walking out of the Saddledome with a bit of a limp. Justin Schultz, defenseman, (fractured left leg) is out four months.
• Canucks: Defensemen Alex Edler (knee), Chris Tanev (hip) and Sven Baertschi (concussion) are still out of the lineup.
THE SKATE
• After winning the first three games of this Canadian road trip, including a brilliant 39-save performance in Calgary, it appears that Matt Murray will sit this one out. Sullivan did not say who his starting goalie will be, but Casey DeSmith was the first off the ice. That means the backup will make his first start since Oct. 16. In that game, a 3-2 overtime loss to these same Canucks, DeSmith stopped 23 of 26 shots.
• With Brassard out of the lineup, that means that Sprong will draw back in. Sprong's best game this season came on another Saturday night in Canada. That was two weeks ago in Montreal when he picked up a gorgeous assist on Simon's first-period goal. He's been held without a point in his three games since.
"I think I've had my good moments and some of my bad moments, but I'm learning from my mistakes," Sprong, who has just three shots on goal this season, told me. "I have to see if I can create some more opportunities for myself. If I get more shots, I think a couple are going to go in. I just have to stay patient with it. Know what my assets are and try and expose them a bit more."
• The legendary Bob Cole will have the play-by-play call on CBC's "Hockey Night in Canada." The 85-year-old, who is working a reduced schedule this year, is retiring from broadcasting at season's end. Though his schedule of games is not yet determined, this could be the final Penguins game that he calls. Cole, who has called the careers of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, will host a special episode of "After Hours" with Crosby following the game.
• Daniel and Henrik Sedin have been Vancouver fixtures since the turn of the new century and though they are both retired, they are still around. One of them, don't ask me which, was walking around the Canucks' dressing room.
THE OTHER SIDE
With five goals and three assists for eight points, Elias Pettersson is the NHL's rookie scoring leader. Most impressively, the Canucks center still holds that distinction despite missing the past half-dozen games.
That will change tonight, though, as Pettersson will make his much-anticipated return against the Penguins. Canucks coach Travis Green confirmed that Pettersson and Brock Boeser — Vancouver's two brightest young stars -- will return to the lineup:
The Swedish rookie, the fifth overall pick last year, went out with a concussion sustained Oct. 13 at Florida when Panthers defenseman Mike Matheson leveled Pettersson with an illegal hit. Matheson was suspended two games.
"He's had a good start to his young season, certainly a guy that I think is an up-and-coming star in this league," Sullivan said. "Certainly, he's a guy that we have to be aware of when he's on the ice tonight."
Boeser, who had missed the previous two games with a hip injury, has been a Penguins killer in his brief career. Boeser has seven goals in three career games against the Penguins, including the OT winner past DeSmith on Oct. 16 at PPG Paints Arena.
The Canucks have won their last three games against the Penguins, dating back to last season. The key for them tonight, Bo Horvat says, is not trading chance for chance against Pittsburgh's offense.
"We stuck to our game plan," Horvat told me. "Played direct hockey. We didn't turn it into a track meet, so to speak. If we play a 20o-foot game and play well defensively, wait for our chances and do the little things right, we should be fine."
THE COMBINATIONS
Here are the expected lines/pairings based on availability, both teams' most recent full sessions and what we were able to cull from discussions:
Guentzel-Crosby-Rust
Hagelin-Malkin-Kessel
Cullen-Sheahan-Hornqvist
Simon-Grant-Sprong
Dumoulin-Letang
Johnson-Ruhwedel
Maatta-Oleksiak
Goldobin-Pettersson-Boeser
Leipsic-Horvat-Eriksson
Roussel-Sutter-Virtanen
Schaller-Granlund-Motte
Hutton-Gudbranson
Del Zotto-Biega
Pouliot-Stecher
THE SCHEDULE
Faceoff tonight is at 10:08 p.m., Pittsburgh time. The Penguins will have an off day Sunday as they travel back to Pittsburgh following their 12-day road trip through Canada. They will practice Monday at noon at the Lemieux Sports Complex.
THE COVERAGE
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