VANCOUVER -- The Vancouver Canucks are that solid, experienced team that knew the scoring would come eventually. So four games into a 1-2-1 season, when only one forward not named Daniel had dented the twine, no one was outwardly nervous.
Inwardly? OK, maybe deep down inside, a few guys were beginning to wonder not if, but perhaps when that first goal would ever come.
"We've got a lot of guys in here who want to perform. We know we're a high-scoring team," said Ryan Kesler, who sniped a one-time slapshot from the left circle, a Matisse that will no doubt be followed by 25 or better of the more hard-driving, paint-by-number variety that are his trademark.
"We put a lot of pressure on ourselves, individually and team-wise," he continued. "We put more pressure on ourselves in here than you or most people think. We all want to score goals, and we all want to perform.
"We just had to relax. It's a lot easier now, after a night like this."
They were well into the third period and completely in control of a dog-tired Carolina team before either of the Sedin twins had a point. Three goals and six assists had been awarded before Daniel and Henrik jumped on the gravy train against a Hurricanes club that was 11 time zones removed from where it had opened the season in Helsinki, Finland.
On Sunday the 'Canes looked like they'd made the journey to Vancouver on foot.
Four different Canucks scored their first goal of the season, and four collected their first point of the season. Vancouver needed this night the way a Bluesman needs a bad break; the way a cowboy singer needs a cheatin' girl.
It was a 5-1 win in which Henrik and Daniel were simple contributors, not carrying the mail. Perfect.
"It's good for the other guys, and good for (the Sedins) to know that there are other guys who can score," said Mike Samuelsson, who broke loose with a goal and two assists, surprisingly after being lifted off of the Sedins' wing for this game.
Stand down, Canucks fans. Your team is going to be just fine.
And if there was an easier night to break Cory Schneider's maiden in this, his first full-time season as Roberto Luongo's backup, we couldn't fathom when that might be.
Carolina opened with two games in Helsinki, played in Ottawa Thursday, then made their way to Vancouver. Their body clocks don't have a chance right now and neither did the 'Canes. As good teams are supposed to do, Vancouver put their foot on the exposed jugular of a wounded team and did not take it off for 60 minutes.
Schneider's night was solid if not overly taxing. He stopped 32 shots, beaten only by a Patrick O'Sullivan slapper from the right dot that rang the crossbar on the way in.
He collected the win - only the third of his budding National Hockey League career - and walks away feeling more like "I'm part of the team," the 24-year-old said. "That the guys trust me. It makes me feel more comfortable."
Schneider is to be the recipient, or so goes the grand plan here in Vancouver this October, of roughly two starts in every 10, general manager Mike Gillis says. They want him to take "between 16 and 22" starts off of Luongo's plate this season, a plan that will last as long as the Canucks retain their predicted dominance over the Northwest Division.
When a good team like this struggles, and every game becomes a must-win, the first victim is always the backup. Luongo will play the crucial games for this franchise, thank you very much, so as long as things are running smoothly on the West coast, we may indeed see Schneider more often.
Sunday was a plum. The Canucks were rested and ready to erase a slow start to the season, and Carolina was the sluggish victim of a sadistic schedule-maker.
"You don't want to always throw (the back-up goalie) in there when it's a back to back, and we're all dead tired," Kesler said.
So they gave him the kind of game the starter usually hogs all to himself, and responded by scoring five on an easy, breezy night at Rogers Arena.
There is little reason to believe there won't be plenty more of these for the Canucks this season. When they're firing like they were Sunday, this is one fine hockey team - no matter who the opponent, or who's in goal.
