Russo's short takes: Oct. 12

By MICHAEL RUSSO, Star Tribune

Last update: October 12, 2008 - 12:27 AM

Before Thursday's home opener, the Vancouver Canucks held a video tribute to defenseman Luc Bourdon, who died in a motorcycle accident at age 21. One of the spine-tingling moments was the photo of a jovial Bourdon posing with the puck from his first NHL goal last November against the Wild. Andrew Burrows, one of Bourdon's best friends, scored twice in Thursday's opener. After his first goal, Burrows did a bow-and-arrow gesture. "[Bourdon] used to do this move after he scored goals in junior," said Burrows, who planned to give the puck to Bourdon's mom.

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If you're a puck diehard and haven't checked out NHL Gamecenter on NHL.com yet, give it a look. Besides being able to watch both team's feeds, you can watch in-game play-by-play, real-time stats, chat with fans and check out different camera angles. You can watch up to four games at a time, and all games are archived. Very cool. It's $19.95 a month, or to save money, $159 a year.

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The Oilers' third jersey will be a flashback to their glory days -- the old blue and orange jerseys. "They could be in negligees for all I care, and I wouldn't notice," coach Craig MacTavish deadpanned.

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