"As someone pointed out online Saturday, the sandpaper in the Canucks lineup has been more like a loofah this year.

So improving the grind factor isn't exactly difficult on a team that has all the edge of a bath sponge.

That said, no one should downplay what Byron Bitz managed to accomplish Saturday. Playing his first NHL game in nearly two years, Bitz was competent, physical, landed a huge hit and grappled in a big fight.

That's about a month's worth of physicality for the Canucks.

The line Alain Vigneault put him on didn't work, but none of them did Saturday. By the end, Bitz had played 8:32, which is 8:32 more than he ever thought he was going to play again.

"There were a lot of times when I thought I'd never play another game, let alone an NHL game," Bitz said. "It's definitely a victory for, not just me, but the medical staff with the Canucks here. The training staff that saw me through some tough times and they didn't write me off.

"They just kept looking for solutions."

They found those solutions in about December when some different therapy finally helped Bitz start making progress.

On Saturday, Bitz, oddly put on a line with Cody Hodgson, made his mark early. He pancaked Colorado defenceman Kyle Quincey in the first period.

It was a big hit made bigger because you just don't see the Canucks connect on many of them."