Success at home has been tough to achieve so far this season for the Vancouver Canucks.
But after their 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday, the Canucks head into Sunday's clash with the visiting Nashville Predators on a winning note and with proof of what they can do when they play to their potential.
"Now we've got to make it two games in a row. Make it our identity," Vancouver forward Elias Pettersson said.
The Canucks have managed a surprisingly weak home-ice record (3-3-3) to start the season. The low point was the 5-2 beating at the hands of the New York Islanders on Thursday, after which coach Rick Tocchet apologized to their fans.
The boo birds were cheering the Canucks when the final buzzer sounded against the Blackhawks, however.
"Since I've been here, me personally, I felt this team has responded after bad efforts," Tocchet said. "I haven't seen them string a lot of bad efforts. I commend the players."
The Canucks took over Saturday's game in the second period, during which they erased a one-goal deficit and grabbed hold of the momentum.
"I think we got too stale in the neutral zone, didn't come with speed, and when they got the puck deep, they were breaking it out easy," Pettersson said, when asked what helped them gain the upper hand. "Getting more speed in the neutral zone changed it for us."
Now to see whether the Canucks can do the same against another struggling visitor to their arena.
"They're a tough opponent," Pettersson said. "We've got to re-charge the batteries and be ready to go."
The Predators have dropped the first three contests in a five-game road trip, with the latest setback a 2-0 decision to the Calgary Flames on Friday. Nashville dropped consecutive 3-2 overtime losses to begin the trek.
"It was a tight hockey game," Predators coach Andrew Brunette said of the game versus the Flames. "Ice was at a premium. I thought they defended real well and we failed to really create a whole lot besides when we got desperate at different times late in the game."
The Predators had extremely high hopes going into the season with the addition of a trio of veteran free agents in forwards Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault and defenseman Brady Skjei. Instead, they limped out of the gates with five consecutive losses in regulation.
It appeared they had turned the tide by going on a 4-1-1 run but since have just one wins in their past seven games (1-4-2).
"I feel like we're hoping to win right now," captain Roman Josi said. "We're not really going out there and attacking the game, like getting a win. We're just kind of hoping and we'll see what happens."
One saving grace for the Predators is a reflection to last season. They were floundering until a 16-0-2 run in February and March sprung them into a playoff berth.
"The position (we're in), we need to get some points, we need to get some wins," Josi said. "We've got to attack the game and get out there and play to win. ... We're not doing that right now."
