"He's getting a little more cocky in the lockerroom," said Canuck forward Alex Burrows, who has five assists. "We'll see how long that lasts."

"He thinks he's one of the better offensive D's on the team now," added centre Ryan Kesler. "I have to remind him to stay within his game."

Bieksa is getting concerned, too. Mitchell is his defensive partner at even strength and never sees the power play — yet he's only two points behind Bieksa, who's on every power play.

"He's a little too close for comfort," sighed Bieksa. "It seems every time the puck comes to me, I'm sliding it over to him and there are not many pucks coming back. I talked to him about maybe pump-faking it once in a while and throwing it back to me but, no, he's putting the puck on net.

"He's not a disher any more, he's a shooter. He's nipping at a power-play spot here with his production."