"Chris Higgins has seen the other side and played on his share of lousy teams.

He missed the playoffs with Montreal in 2006-07 and with Calgary two seasons ago. Before his trade to the Vancouver Canucks last Feb. 28, he was on a Florida Panther side going nowhere but to the golf course.

So you can imagine how enjoyable it is for him to be part of a group that keeps on winning despite some serious lapses in performance. Like on Tuesday, when the Canucks were nearly run out of Rogers Arena in the second period by the Chicago Blackhawks, yet managed to prevail 3-2 in overtime.

"I've played on teams before where we've had some great stretches of hockey but didn't have a winning record," Higgins noted Wednesday as the Canucks prepared for Thursday's meeting with the first overall Detroit Red Wings. "We're playing very mediocre hockey right now and still getting the results. I think it's a sign of a good team but, at the same time, you'd like to feel more in tune with the way you're playing.""