Changes working for Canucks

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This article was published 25/03/2015 (4165 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VANCOUVER — After their tire-fire season a year ago of just 83 points, the Vancouver Canucks have shown quite emphatically a good housecleaning is sometimes the only choice.

And the wise one.

In this 2014-5 campaign under new GM Jim Benning and dry-but-wise head coach Willie Desjardins, all the volatility and potential for self-combustion has dissipated into a team that wins frequently and rarely has a bad week.

The Canucks have taken the Jets’ consistency and one-upped it, able to crow their worst stretch of the entire season has been a pair of three-game losing streaks.

Heading into Tuesday’s game against the Jets at Rogers Arena, the Canucks had 88 points after wins in six of the last eight and were well on the way to nailing down a playoff spot as the Pacific Division’s second seed.

“I think our depth has really showed up,” said Vancouver defenceman Kevin Bieksa. “Last year at a similar point of the season we had a bunch of guys go down as well, and we weren’t able to stay afloat.

“This year, we’ve found a way to get points in some games, a few games on the road where we didn’t deserve to get points, and we found a way to scratch and claw and got some good goaltending in some timely situations. Now that we’re healthy, we’re playing really well and beating some good teams.

“The confidence is pretty high and we’re just rolling.”

After their second three-game skid in mid-January, the Canucks were barely hanging on in the Western Conference, fourth in their division, eighth overall and just two points up on fifth-place Calgary.

Consistency has served the team well, steadily moving past the L.A. Kings and San Jose Sharks in the division in the last two months.

And in the last four weeks, it’s been done without No. 1 goalie Ryan Miller, who’s sidelined with an injury.

Former Manitoba Moose standout Eddie Lack has taken the load and the Canucks haven’t missed a beat.

Sunday against Arizona, Lack had his first night off since Miller went down, but he was back in goal against the Jets Tuesday.

“It’s fun coming to the rink every day,” Lack said Tuesday morning, clearly the same life-loving character he was known to be four seasons ago in Winnipeg. “Every game’s important right now. It’s fun coming here and playing every day.”

There is still a Moose flavour on the Canucks, even though there’s been roster turnover and it’s four years removed from the affiliation with that AHL team.

One of the six former Moose hit a payday Tuesday. Defenceman Chris Tanev, a pro rookie in Winnipeg in 2010-11, signed a five-year, $22.5-million extension with Vancouver.

“It kind of feels like yesterday when we were sitting in Winnipeg and he had his Grinch pajamas on,” Lack joked on Tuesday. “Now he’s a millionaire.

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“I kind of feel he’s the same person now as he was before. He’s a goalie’s best friend, reading the play so well and blocking shots. He’s a thrill to have out there.”

The Canucks do have new faces such as rookie Bo Horvat making an impact, but the team’s core has a wealth of experience in late- and post-season play in the recent past.

“I think it’s very valuable,” Bieksa said. “It’s the calmness of the situation. These are important games and points and we’ve been there before. Some of the younger guys, I think, kind of see the way everyone else carries themselves, the guys that have been here before and been in these situations. And that calms everybody down.

“We go out and kind of worry about ourselves, play our own game and chip away at it. You’ve got all these big games ahead of you and it’s a big push to make the playoffs.”

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca