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THE MOJ: Demanding even wins happen 91Ƶthe right way91Ƶ shows Canuck culture shift

Taking the foot of the gas against Ottawa unacceptable to this version of the team
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If you needed evidence that there has been a cultural shift with the Vancouver Canucks, Tuesday night91Ƶs 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators at Rogers Arena was 91ƵExhibit A91Ƶ judging by some of the post-game comments from head coach Rick Tocchet and his players.

It was a victory, but at the end of the night, it was pretty obvious that the standards that have been set by Tocchet and his staff were not met.

The Canucks took advantage of some shoddy goaltending and some lucky bounces to chase Sens starting netminder Anton Forsberg out of the game after he gave up four goals on 13 shots in the first period. When the smoke had cleared after 20 minutes, the Canucks had a 5-0 lead courtesy of two goals from Elias Pettersson with Ian Cole, Pius Sutter and J.T. Miller adding singles.

91ƵIt was a great period. Probably one of our best periods in about a month,91Ƶ Tocchet stated post-game.

It91Ƶs what happened after the opening period that left a sour taste in the mouth of Tocchet and players such as Miller.

The Senators battled back with goals from Claude Giroux and a pair of third period goals by Vladimir Tarasenko to make it 5-3 with 2:31 remaining in the game but the Canucks responded with Suter scoring his second goal of the night just 13 seconds later to seal the win for Vancouver.

91ƵI just liked our start. I think no matter if you score those (types of) goals or not, it91Ƶs good for the game and good for the pace. That being said, I felt like we just totally sat on a five-goal lead after the first period. If we are going to take steps as a team, we are going to need to play the second and third like it91Ƶs nothing-nothing. I thought we played worse after the first period, so it91Ƶs nice to enjoy the win but we are going to evaluate ourselves honestly and we didn91Ƶt play very well after the first period,91Ƶ explained Miller.

Yes, it was a win but one good period and two poor ones won91Ƶt cut it in the majority of games moving forward and especially on the seven-game road trip that starts Thursday night in St. Louis.

Simply put, this edition of the Canucks isn91Ƶt satisfied with sub-par performances even if they do result in two points in the standings and that91Ƶs a good thing. It means that a bar has been set and there is going to be accountability if the process isn91Ƶt followed 91Ƶ win or lose.

91ƵWe didn91Ƶt play the right way. We91Ƶll take the two points but it was a learning lesson for us. I didn91Ƶt like our (last) 40 and I hope the guys didn91Ƶt, but hey, we won the game. I loved our first period91Ƶthat91Ƶs basically my assessment of the game,91Ƶ Tocchet said with a tinge of sarcasm.

As his post-game session continued, you had the feeling that Tocchet was anything but happy with his team91Ƶs overall performance.

91ƵThe last two periods we lost our staples. We didn91Ƶt go through people and then we were backing up. Guys were skating backwards in the neutral zone. We were pinching when we shouldn91Ƶt. Those were the things for me that I don91Ƶt like. It can become contagious, so we91Ƶve got to stop that,91Ƶ expanded Tocchet, who also added it should have been an 91Ƶeasier night91Ƶ for goaltender Thatcher Demko.

There was one thing that did bring a smile to Tocchet91Ƶs face post-game and that was the first period power play goal by Pettersson.

The Canucks entered the game with only two power play goals in their last 22 opportunities spanning six games. The power play woes resulted in the first power play unit getting some extra work during the game day skate even though it was supposed to be an optional workout.

The Canucks scored on their only opportunity of the game when Pettersson misfired on a one-timer only to see the puck deflected by Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson and sneak by goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, who had come into the game for Forsberg by that point.

91ƵI do like the fact that it was one of the plays we worked on this morning. It was downhill, and if the lane was open to Petey, to get it to him. Sometimes you get those lucky goals. 100% it was nice to get a power play goal and maybe get the confidence going for the guys,91Ƶ Tocchet noted.

OVERTIME

* Wayne Gretzky made the trek to Vancouver from Seattle after working the Winter Classic between the Kraken and the Vegas Golden Knights for TNT on Monday to take in the Canucks game. Gretzky and Tocchet were teammates for a couple of seasons in the 91Ƶ9091Ƶs with the L.A. Kings and Tocchet was an assistant coach for one season in Phoenix under Gretzky.

* The Great One was bullish on the Canucks when we asked for his thoughts on the team at the morning skate. 91ƵObviously their record speaks for itself. I91Ƶm sure everybody in the area is pretty excited about where they are and what they91Ƶve accomplished so far. They got to be proud. Watching the games, they91Ƶre playing with a lot of heart and playing hard. Their goaltending has been solid, their best players are playing at a high level 91Ƶ Hughes and Miller and Pettersson 91Ƶ and everyone else has jumped on the wagon. They deserve all the accolades they are getting right now. It91Ƶs been fun to watch,91Ƶ said Gretzky, who took in the game from the stands with Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini and Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger.

* The Canucks lost forward Phil Di Giuseppe in the first period to a lower-body injury. Tocchet told reporters post-game that it would 91Ƶbe awhile91Ƶ before Di Giuseppe would be back in the lineup and also added the team would probably recall a forward from Abbotsford for the upcoming road trip.

* Nils Aman was a healthy scratch for Vancouver with Tocchet saying that 91Ƶthree, four, five guys that will be rotated (in and) out91Ƶ of a forward spot while looking for someone to establish themselves.

* Senators President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Steve Staois was on the trip with his team. Staois played for the Canucks from 1997 through 1999 91Ƶ appearing in 143 games for Vancouver.

Veteran B.C. sports personality Bob 91Ƶthe Moj91Ƶ Marjanovich writes twice weekly for Black Press Media.

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