Canucks navigating unfamiliar prosperity after successful start to season

VANCOUVER — The last time the Vancouver Canucks tore through October with the level of success they did to start this season, it was 2005, the autumn after the National Hockey League lockout. 

But that team would soon be undermined by injuries and the toxic relationship between coach Marc Crawford and forward Todd Bertuzzi, both of whom were jettisoned after the season by general manager Dave Nonis.

Put another way, it has been a long time since the Canucks, 6-2-1 as they open November’s schedule with a road game Thursday against the winless San Jose Sharks, have had to deal with prosperity at the beginning of the season. 

Last season, the Canucks exited October 2-5-2, the year before they were 3-5-1. Winning is a lot more fun. But it’s also fairly novel for this group and its core as the Canucks try to rebrand themselves under coach Rick Tocchet.

Winning, however, presents its own challenges, which partly explains how the Canucks veered away Tuesday from several of Tocchet’s “staples” but still beat the Nashville Predators 5-2 at Rogers Arena.

The only time last month when the Canucks played worse — and the 2-0 road loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 17 was exponentially worse — the team held a crisis meeting before practice the next day that included enough negative video to make a major motion picture.

Before Wednesday’s practice, Tocchet and staff showed very little.

“I just felt these guys didn't have to see their turnovers; we didn't have to have video of them doing the stuff they did last night,” Tocchet explained to reporters before the Canucks flew to San Jose. “They knew it, they got it, so why pound it down their throat? We took the positive road and I think that's the reason why we had a good spirit in practice today.

“The hardest part when you're winning or things are going well for you is if you have a routine, you're like, 'maybe I'll just come to practice a bit later.' You know, 'I'm going to get off the ice (sooner).' As I said last night, you get a little fat and happy. I don't feel that with this team right now. I don't. I think it was just one of those games where we weren't connected early but we found a way to win. I'm going to take the positive out of last night.”

And he’s going to trust the Canucks’ leadership group and the team’s developing culture to make sure players are better prepared and ready for the Sharks.

Even with the wobble against Nashville, Vancouver is 4-1-1 since the Philly fiasco. This run began when Tocchet deliberately took a “step back” from players after blistering them for their no-show in Philadelphia.

“What is it, Nov. 1?” Tocchet said Wednesday. “If I'm in there every day with my voice, after a while, I don't blame players, like, 'I'm tired of hearing your voice.' That's why. . . last week on the road trip, I kind of backed off and let the players dictate the room, and I love that.”

So no wonder he didn’t bury players with video on Wednesday.

“I think everyone just understood that we weren't playing (the way) we are capable of, and especially the standards that we want to play with,” centre Elias Pettersson told reporters the day after his hat trick and Thatcher Demko’s goaltending salvaged the sloppy win. “I think that's good from Toc and the coaching staff to trust us to understand that, and we will be better tomorrow.”

Pettersson said: “I think culture is everything — something you can rely on and get back to when things aren't going so well.”

That culture seems to be transforming with the team after the Canucks missed the playoffs in seven of the last eight seasons. 

Very few coaches can push a team all the way to the Stanley Cup; coaches coach, but it’s the players who have to push each other to win — to hold each other accountable when standards are not met.

“That is the challenge, right?” senior Canucks defenceman Tyler Myers said. “We're trying to become a team that can show that it can be consistent throughout a season. We got the start that we wanted (in October), but it really comes down to just having a mindset. It's coming to the rink every day trying to get better.

“Even last night after the game, there were guys in the room saying it wasn't our best game and we have to be better. Even after a win. That's a good sign. It means that there's a lot of guys in the room that are pushing for that next level.”

MILLER SPEAKS

J.T. Miller chewing with his mouth open would ignite debate in Vancouver, so reporters were naturally disappointed Tuesday when the centre failed to speak after he was briefly benched by Tocchet for taking two bad penalties.

But Miller was waiting to meet the press on Wednesday when the Canucks opened their dressing room. His share of the interview audio totalled 39 seconds — less than either of the two shifts he missed over the final 4:22 of the second period against Nashville.

“It was four minutes, so I really wouldn't put too much into it,” he said. “I was pretty hot, took some bad penalties, and the team did a great job killing it off. It just let me cool off. . . for the last couple minutes of the second period. That's pretty much all it was.”

Sent out by Tocchet to start the third period, Miller scored a game-clinching goal on a rebound at 4:11.

“It doesn't really make any of it any better,” he said. “But I guess it was a big part of the game and, like I said, we found a way to win.”

ONE FOR ADAM

A nice moment largely overlooked Tuesday was that checker Sam Lafferty scored the Canucks’ opening goal after friend and former Pittsburgh Penguin linemate Adam Johnson was honoured before the anthems with a moment of silence inside Rogers Arena.

Known personally by several Canucks, Johnson, 29, died Saturday during a game in Britain when his throat was slashed open by a skate.

“After I scored, I definitely looked up to the sky and just kind of thought about Johnny,” Lafferty said Wednesday. “It was cool to see that moment of silence we did here. And I saw the tribute they did in Pittsburgh with the video and teams around centre ice, which I thought was amazing.

“It's just, it's pretty heavy. It's hard to put words to it. You just kind of look up and know he's in a better place, and I'm sure he's happy for us that we're still doing the thing we love.”