BY MARK SPECTOR
sportsnet.ca
VANCOUVER --The Sedin twins, who won the gold medal at the 2006 Olympic Games in Turin, sat at the interview table next to teammate Sami Salo, who was on the other side of that '06 Olympic Final manning the blue-line for Finland.
Inside the Canucks dressing room, Team USA centreman Ryan Kesler's stall is just a couple doors down from Team Canada goalie Roberto Luongo. We all knew who won that game a few months back.
With Michael Samuelsson injured and out for the remainder of the season, the only Canuck who can say he has played in a Stanley Cup final game is third-line left-winger Raffi Torres ('06, Edmonton).
But with all the World Junior finals, World Championships and Olympic Games, there is still a raft of big game experience inside this Canucks room.
"I think this is obviously the biggest game you can play," Daniel Sedin said. "I think you look at Olympic finals, World Championships… But when you play this long, with good friends and teammates, it's the biggest game you can play.
"I mean, you played 82 games just to get in, then it's a long run in the playoffs, too. For sure (Game 1 of the Cup final) is the biggest game you can play in."
The Sedins and Salo are the three longest-serving Canucks. Between them, counting regular season and playoffs, they have played 2,543 NHL games to reach this Cup final.
"It's like the Holy Grail," Salo said. "Very long road to get to the playoffs. Only a few players have a chance to play for the Cup. (It can't be) compared to the Olympics or the World Championships."
Coaching trail
If it's a long road here for the players, it's even longer for a guy like Alain Vigneault, the Canucks head coach who played 42 NHL games with St. Louis before winding up his career as a member of the Central Hockey League's Montana Magic in 1983-84.
He got into coaching shortly thereafter simply to "give back" to the game. Did he ever think he'd be standing there behind the bench, as they dropped the puck on Game 1 at the Final?
"Well, I quickly realized that my potential as a player was real limited, so unless I played for a real good team, I wasn't going to get a chance to play for the Stanley Cup," Vigneault said Wednesday morning. "So when I started my coaching career in Tier II level, it was basically really just to give something back to the game. I had made it to the NHL as a player because there were some great volunteers, and I wasn't really thinking at that time I was going to make coaching my career.
"All of a sudden I had success, moved on to major junior, had success there, went back and forth a couple years. Now after almost 25 years of coaching, I'm finally getting a chance to play for the Stanley Cup. "
It's a nice story for a guy who knows how the business works. If the Canucks had stalled after Round 1 again this year, it is highly likely someone else would be running this team through its paces coming training camp 2011.
"When you get in this business, you're not quite sure how long you're going to be in it," he admitted. "It's not an easy business to get into, it's not an easy business to stay in, and it's not an easy business once you're out of the NHL to get back in. I'm going to appreciate this moment and enjoy the time."
Malhotra drama
Will centre Manny Malhotra play in Game 1?
Well, Vigneault wouldn't say, though there were reports Wednesday that he will not. Malhotra did not skate Wednesday morning, after taking Tuesday off the ice as well.
There is a dearth of information, but if we had to guess, we'd say Malhotra is out tonight.
