It's not a habit they care to catch, but the Coquitlam Express have shown an ability to take time off and still pull out the win.

Shaking off a sluggish start, the Express doubled up on the Nanaimo Clippers 6-3 to open an 11-point lead in the battle for the final playoff spot.

Although the fourth-and-final playoff spot is not mathematically clinched, it's understandable that Coquitlam fixes its attention to the teams above them.

"The first period wasn't a good period, we were half asleep," said Express coach Jon Calvano. "Maybe we were a little over confident after beating Powell River twice. Sometimes we play down to the level of the other team, it's something we have to get over."

Nanaimo tried hard to play up to a playoff team's level in the first, outshooting the home team 16-8 and taking a 2-0 lead. In the second period the Express turned the tables and got goals from Malcolm McKinney, Mitch Nardi and Taylor Bourne in a span of 2: 32 to grab a 3-2 lead.

The Clippers' Dan Correale went end-to-end on a delayed penalty to knot the game up at three before the buzzer. Coquitlam, however, didn't let that shake their focus.

Early in the third, Alex Petan potted the game winner, followed by Clinton Atkinson's point blast midway through the third that caught the top corner. Affiliate callup Eric Margo hit the empty net to wrap it up.

"You've got to learn how to win ugly because you're not always going with fancy goals and great efforts in the playoffs," remarked second-year forward Justin Georgeson. "We know how to win a couple of different ways."

The victory improved their record to 30172-2, three points back of third-place Cowichan Valley and just five points out of first place.

Considering the hot streak the team has set since the start of November - going 261011 - nothing seems impossible even with just nine games left in the regular season.

"What we try to do in the room is not get too high after a win and not get too low after a loss because that's important. In the playoffs you have to get back at it after a loss," noted Georgeson.

"Obviously we'd like to move up and maybe even get into second and get home ice advantage, that's key. We feel confident at home and on the road right now, so our goal is just to keep building momentum and confidence for the playoffs."

The road to a higher spot in the standings begins tonight, 7 p.m. when Coquitlam hosts the Merritt Centennials at the Poirier Sports Centre. On Saturday, the Express play Cowichan Valley (7 p.m., at the Sports Centre) in a fourpoint tilt.

sports@thenownews.com