"There was a moment when Kevin Bieksa couldn't hold the puck in at the blueline during a power-play drill on Sunday, followed by the D-man slamming his stick on the ice and yelling a word most-favoured by hockey players.

If he's frustrated, he has reason to be: Nine games, no points.

Only six other Canucks have been held off the scoresheet and none plays anywhere near the minutes Bieksa does.

Should he fail to register a point again tonight, it will mark the longest he's gone pointless as a Canuck without a major injury falling in the middle, as when he suffered sliced legs in 2009-10 and '07-08.

The last time he went nine in a row like this was in '06-07.

"I was wondering when this was going to come," Bieksa said when he asked about the dry spell. "You know what, it's been a slow start, obviously I'm not getting as many pucks on net as I'd like, but I've had chances, numerous chances."

He said he needs to think shoot-first more.

"His focus right now on trying to play a high-percentage game is there," Alain Vigneault said. "I think for him it's just a matter of time and when it happens he'll just get on a roll like he usually does."