Good start. The Canucks took care of business on Friday night at Rogers Arena with a 5-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets to start a six-game homestand.
Pius Suter scored twice for Vancouver in a game that saw them tally five unanswered goals after falling behind two-nothing after 20-minutes.
The win improved the Canucks home record to 4-5-and-3 and moved them into 3rd place alone in the Pacific Division with 32 points.
“We couldn’t hold a puck in the 1st (period), we lost every battle,” Vancouver head coach Rick Tocchet said postgame, “but we started to win some battles, got back in the game, started turning the puck over again in the 2nd, so there’s just pockets of it, we’ve just gotta get better at, but I think really it’s just managing the puck, we won some battles, that’s how we got back in the game. Obviously, getting that power play goal helps too.”
The power play goal came at 10:22 of the 3rd period and gave the Canucks a 4-2 lead. It was Jake DeBrusk’s 12th marker of the season. Vancouver went 1-for-2 on the PP; Columbus 0-for-3.
The next five games present much bigger challenges, starting with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday afternoon. That match will be followed by serious tests against the St. Louis Blues, Florida Panthers, Boston Bruins, and Colorado Avalanche.
It’s the first time the Vancouver club will see the Blues and Av’s this season. They’ve already beaten the defending Stanley Cup Champion Panthers and the Bruins on the road. The Bolts beat the visiting Canucks 4-1 way back on October 15th.
Vancouver is well off the remarkable pace of winning at home that they established last season when they won the Pacific Division, finishing 27-9-and-5 in the friendly confines. This year feels more like two seasons ago, when the non-playoff team finished a little below .500 on home ice and better than .500 away.
Of course, there’s still 2/3rds of a schedule to play.
Oh, and by the way, the Canucks have been stupendous on the road this season at 10-2-and-1.
“The guys want to play well at home,” Tocchet said after practice on Saturday. “So if you make it a story, I’ve looked at pockets this year where we haven’t been good at home. Terrible. We have had some good and you’ve got to remain positive. But, you just can’t go into the first period of a game (and have so many turnovers), you have to start well. I’d rather just play simple hockey the first period, get your game going.”
Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay is a 1 pm matinee.
