Whether you want to give a nod to the sleep doctor, the return of Kevin Bieksa, a career highlight night for Andrew Ebbett or the enduring problems Nashville experiences when they don't score first, this was a special night for the Canucks.

Despite the fact that the Sedins didn't combine for anything between them and the power play did squat again, the Canucks returned from an Eastern trip with a ton of energy, scored five goals in chasing Pekka Rinne for the third straight game at Rogers Arena and generally gave the impression they had righted their ship, at least until the tired and overdue for a decent performance Detroit Red Wings get here.

There haven't been many nights in Canucks history when a Vancouver team has returned from the Eastern time zone with just one day between games and shown that kind of energy. It began right from the outset when big guys Zack Kassian and David Booth were flying around and there wasn't a player on the roster who didn't look energized, the decision to stay behind in Columbus Tuesday night and fly Wednesday clearly a great decision.

In what had the potential to be a really difficult game for this team despite the struggling opposition, the Canucks had more than enough jump to generate a bonanza of offence, the leading point man being none other than Ebbett who had his finest night in a Vancouver uniform.

"We had the same thing really, playing in Dallas, but they stayed overnight and we didn't," said Predators coaching adviser Brent Peterson. "It seems to have made a difference."

"It would be interesting to see a study on how we do when we stay and when we come back at night," said Alberts, who was another of the big guys with jump.

"For us, getting home at 1: 15, 1: 30 at night is no big deal and we'd prefer it. But when you see us like this, there may be something to staying."

Offence figured to be a little bit easier with Bieksa in the lineup any way, despite the fact he struggled.

His ability to move the puck and move a left-shooting defender back to the left side where he belongs gives this team the kind of boost you might get from two regulars coming back. And add to that the fact that Jason Garrison is finally beginning to feel comfortable with this group and you have the puck coming out of the defensive zone much more quickly and accurately than it has been, which can only lift the production.

But nothing should be taken away from Ebbett, who for one night at least superbly filled in as a second-or third-line centre, depending upon what you'd like to call him. This team knows it needs to make a deal for at least one centre before the trade deadline in early April, but short term this was a boost. On one play he took a big hit deep in his defensive zone to spring the speedy Jannik Hansen down the left boards for the goal that put the game beyond a comeback for the lowest-scoring team in the NHL.

"I was a little upset with the hit because I felt that (Rich) Clune had slew-footed me a little bit and I was going after him a little bit, letting him know about it and then I hear the cheers and look up and we're on the board," said Ebbett with a smile.

"It was a great feeling to be able to contribute like that, but you know what they say. One game doesn't make a season."

While there are no expectations this kind of a performance will ever be repeated by Ebbett, it was certainly a most welcome tonic to a team that had players break lengthy goal-scoring droughts, Maxim Lapierre the most notable at 18 games, Alex Edler and Mason Raymond at nine and even Booth getting his first with an empty-netter.

Other than the power play, which had just two opportunities, this one was a marvellous evening that kept them in first place in the division.