1) The Vancouver Canucks have found a number of ways to win during the team's first six game win streak in three years. They knocked off Vegas in overtime, won with just 14 shots against Pittsburgh, battle backed against Edmonton, withstood a 51 shot barrage against Los Angeles and jumped all over Calgary early. On Thursday night, the Canucks showed character and maturity responding after head coach Travis Green challenged his troops after three straight Chicago goals midway through the second period. Green called his timeout with his team on the ropes down 4-2 and he got the response he was looking for. Two minutes after the timeout, Quinn Hughes scored on the power play and 1:25 after that the Canucks tied the game 4-4 on an Elias Pettersson laser from the slot. The 4-2 deficit was the first time during the team's win streak that the Canucks have trailed by two goals. Despite being down a pair, there didn't seem to be any panic as Thursday was the latest example of the Canucks firepower coming through. The game marked the 16th time in 41 outings that this club has scored five or more in a game this season. The Canucks are now 19-2-2 in the 23 games they have scored three or more goals this season.

2) Bo Horvat was a beast on Thursday. He scored twice and set up another. But more than the point production it was the way he took charge of the hockey game. He registered a career-high nine shots on goal among his game-high 12 attempts. He had three block shots including one moments before he sealed the victory into an empty net. He was on the ice for five of the seven goals his team scored on the night. Horvat led all Canucks in individual corsi with the team controlling 63.9% of all even-strength shot attempts on the night. At 5-on-5, the shots were 16-4 and the Canucks outscored the Hawks 3-0 when Horvat was on the ice. In six and a half minutes at even strength against Jonathan Toews, Horvat won the captains battle with the Canucks outshooting the Hawks 6-0. Against Patrick Kane, the shots were 8-4 in the Canucks favour in just under eight minutes of action. Horvat entered the game before Christmas against Edmonton without a goal at Rogers Arena this season and got a fortunate bounce that night to open his home ice account. He got another lucky bounce on Thursday and then tacked on an empty netter. The goals have been nothing special to see, but they've come at key moments in crucial hockey games and they've all looked pretty good to Horvat, I'm sure.

3) The Canucks top end players led the way offensively on Thursday with JT Miller, Bo Horvat, Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser combining for four goals and 11 points. On the six-game win streak, Pettersson and Miller now each have 9 points while Boeser and Horvat each have seven. While primary production is required, the Canucks have had plenty of secondary scoring during the streak, as well. Tanner Pearson had 1+2=3 against the Hawks and has been racking up points over the past month. And the Canucks defense corps has come through with timely goals on this run. Chris Tanev scored the overtime winner against Vegas to start the streak, Quinn Hughes had the third period winner against Edmonton on December 23rd. Tyler Myers scored a pair in Calgary last Sunday. And the Hughes power play goal to bring the Canucks within one at 4-3 was a huge turning point in Thursday's win. If the Hawks tacked on another after scoring three straight to take a 5-2 lead, there probably isn't a Canuck comeback in the cards. But Hughes wired a point shot through traffic beating Robin Lehner for his fourth goal of the season at 10:20 of the second period and that seemed to calm the Canucks down and bring the crowd back to life. Hughes reaches the midway mark of his first full National Hockey League season with four goals and 25 assists (in 40 games since he missed a November 2nd game in San Jose). The young defenseman wasn't at his best on Thursday, but he still found a way to leave an imprint on the hockey game.

4) Adam Gaudette had one shot on goal Thursday. Man, did he make it count. Gaudette took a centering feed from JT Miller, moved to the slot and ripped a wrist shot past Lehner to put the Canucks in front for good at 6-5 with 4:11 remaining in the third period. The goal was Gaudette's eighth of the season to go along with 10 assists. The 23-year-old has amassed 18 points in just 31 games. He was a healthy scratch frequently earlier in the season and even spend a week in Utica because he couldn't find a regular spot in the NHL line-up. HIs 18 points in 31 games translates to 48 points over a full 82-game schedule. Now, he's not on an 48-point pace because of the missed games earlier in the season. But even at 18 points through the team's first 41 games, if Gaudette can come anywhere close to that kind of production in the second half of the season he's yet another offensive weapon on a team that already has plenty of firepower. A month ago, Gaudette won just three of a combined 20 face-offs in games in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. It was an area of concern for a young centre still trying to find his way in the NHL. On Thursday, Gaudette won six of nine draws. Last Sunday in Calgary he won six of 10. Against both Los Angeles and Edmonton he won four of six. And against Pittsburgh on December 21st, he went 7 &1 in the circle. It's an area of game he needed to improve on and he certainly has. And that will allow Travis Green to trust Gaudette in more situations which in turn should lead to more opportunities and increased ice time.

5) The Canucks needed to have a huge month of December on home ice and they did. And with Thursdays' victory, they extended that into the first game of January. Five of the six wins on this current run have come at home and the club is now 8-2 in its last 10 in front of the home fans. The Canucks improved to 13-5-3 on the season at Rogers Arena. They've got 20 of their final 41 games at home including one on Saturday against the New York Rangers. At the rate they're going, their goal should be at least 25 home wins for the season and that seems well within their reach. At the midway mark of their schedule, they are 22-15-4 good for 46 points and a marked improvement over their record of 19-18-4 (42 points) at the same time last season. They stated at the outset that they believed they were an improved team over a year ago and the organizational belief was that this could be a playoff team. They've reached the halfway point and sit above the playoff bar. With teams around them scuffling, there is certainly reason to believe that there could be playoff hockey in the offing for the Canucks this spring. The 82-game marathon to make the playoffs has now been boiled down to a 41-game push with the club riding a wave of confidence it hasn't had in years.