Gagner has points to prove in stretch drive with Canucks Signed last summer to a three-year, $9.45-million deal to provide offence to a goal-challenged hockey club, Sam Gagner hasn’t exactly set the Vancouver Canucks world on fire with his scoring – and he knows it. But that’s why he’s hoping to finish the season with a surge, Jeff Paterson writes.

VANCOUVER – It isn’t just young players who are looking to make an impression over the final 18 games of the Vancouver Canucks’ season. Veteran Sam Gagner wants to finish his first campaign in Canuck colours on a high.

Signed last summer to a three-year, $9.45-million deal to provide offence to a goal-challenged hockey club, Gagner hasn’t exactly set the world on fire with his scoring – and he knows it. He’s managed just seven goals and 23 points in 56 games so far. And that’s why he’s hoping to finish the season with a surge.

And if the first four games back in the lineup since missing six with an ankle injury are any indication, the 28-year-old is off to a promising start to the stretch drive. Wednesday night against the New York Rangers, Gagner had five shots on goal including three glorious chances in the third period as the Canucks set a season-high with 55 shots on the night. Gagner was robbed twice by Henrik Lundqvist on point-blank opportunities with the man advantage and a third time The King somehow found the puck in a goal-mouth scramble.

Gagner hasn’t scored since cashing in with a two-man advantage in Toronto on Jan. 6, but feels his game is coming around and believes he’s long overdue to make a dent on the scoresheet.

“The first one I would have liked to get it up a little more, but when you’re on the goal line like that you’re just trying to make sure you hit the net and give yourself a chance,” he recalled after practice at Rogers Arena Thursday. “The other two I felt like they were great saves. I did what I wanted to with them and he read it well. The third one, he got his arm on the goal line. Obviously, the positive is that the chances are coming but I have to find a way to put pucks in the net and get something going offensively.

“Any offensive guy will tell you the more looks you get around the net, the more touches you get, the better you feel about your offensive game. Then pucks start to go in and you start to score on some that you probably shouldn’t. It’s important to get that feeling as an offensive guy. It’s been tough at times to get that feeling this year. But when you get those chances, it definitely builds your confidence and allows you to grow your game offensively.”

Gagner has spent much of the season searching for a spot to call his own on the Canucks. He’s been used in a variety of roles up and down the lineup. For the past four games, though, he seems to have found a home between Sven Baertschi and Jake Virtanen. That was the Canucks’ best line in a 6-3 loss in Las Vegas last Friday night. And against the Rangers on Wednesday, that trio again showed flashes of what could be an effective third line for the hockey club.

“We’re getting out there a little more in the flow of the game and getting some offensive zone faceoffs and some O-zone time,” Gagner explained. “Sven and I think the same way and Jake’s a big body that can open up some space with his speed. I think it’s important to play with offensive guys and when you get an offensive role it’s important to continue to try to push forward and create some offence and try to help the team win games that way.”

Gagner hasn’t come anywhere close to the 18 goals and 50 points he recorded in Columbus last season. So in that sense his numbers have been disappointing. His puck possession leaves plenty to be desired, too, with the Canucks controlling 45.6 per cent of all even-strength shot attempts and getting outscored 34-16 at even strength this season with Gagner on the ice. Those statistics leave no doubt there is plenty of work to be done at both ends of the ice.

But in the eyes of head coach Travis Green, it’s hardly been a lost season for Gagner who at times found himself miscast as a winger on the team’s shutdown line. He’s back where he’s most comfortable – playing centre – and is likely to stay there for the remainder of the season.

“I like his effort and you can’t always base a season on numbers,” Green said of Gagner. “Even this morning when we were watching video clips from last night, the comment I made was ‘Gags is really working.’ I’ve liked him better in the middle. I think his game has been stronger as a centre. I think he’s tried to find his way a little bit playing different positions. He’d like to have more points, I’m sure. But so would a lot of guys. It’s not all about numbers for me.”

With college standout Adam Gaudette likely to join the Canucks the moment his NCAA season is over, Gagner may find himself playing to keep his spot in the lineup late in the season. With Henrik Sedin, Bo Horvat and Brandon Sutter also occupying spots at centre on the Canucks’ depth chart, Gagner could be the odd man out if and when Gaudette is ready to make his NHL debut.

That’s why Gagner plans to approach the remaining games like his job depends on it. And he thinks he’s been proving his point for the past week – even if he doesn’t have points to show for it.

“I think I’ve played good hockey since I’ve been back,” he said. “I’ve been around the net and created a lot of chances. Obviously, you want to find a way to get results. Playing in offensive situations just kind of feeds your offensive game and allows you to feel better with the puck. Hopefully, it keeps building my confidence here and so I can finish off the year strong.”

Where Gagner ultimately fits in the Canucks’ plans to get younger and faster moving forward is anyone’s guess. His hope is to use the final 18 games of the season to solidify his spot in the lineup. So in that regard, he’s no different from any of the young players. They all have plenty to play for over the next five weeks.