When the National Hockey League season was put on hold for the 4 Nations Face-Off on February 8th, the Vancouver Canucks were not only in a playoff position in the Western Conference, they were sitting comfortably above the playoff bar with a cushion. If fact, when league play resumed on February 22nd, with 63 points in the standings, the Canucks were actually closer to third place in the Pacific Los Angeles (65) than they were to their nearest pursuer, the Calgary Flames (60).
But a 1-4 road trip to start the post-tournament portion of the schedule sent the Canucks into a tailspin from which they haven’t been able to recover. Obviously, injuries to Quinn Hughes and others have played a key role in the team’s demise, but there are several other factors. Here are 10 statistics that paint the picture of the team’s stretch run:
1) The Canucks are 8-10-2 in their 20 games since the break.
Their 18 points in that time sits 22nd in the league. Their 67 goals against, however, is 27th out of 32 teams. Goal scoring really hasn’t been the issue for the team over the past 20 games. The Canucks have scored 56 goals which is one behind Edmonton and two more than Winnipeg. It’s goal prevention with a relatively healthy defence corps that has dragged the team down.
2) Canucks goaltending hasn’t been good enough.
The team’s .878 save percentage at 5-on-5 sits tied with Chicago for 30th in the NHL since play resumed. Only Philadelphia has a lower team 5-on-5 save percentage and only by a fraction of a percentage point (.876). The Canucks overplayed Kevin Lankinen and his performance suffered. And the hope was that Thatcher Demko could be some sort of saviour, but after Wednesday’s 5-0 loss to Seattle, Demko is just 2-2 in his latest return from injury with a 3.02 GAA and individual save percentage of .878. Lankinen’s .880 save percentage isn’t any better. Of all goalies that have made four starts since the 4-Nations break, Lankinen sits 46th in the NHL while Demko is 49th in overall save percentage.
3) It’s been a struggle for the Canucks to win games in regulation time.
And in a playoff race that was tight for a while, regulation wins mattered. Especially when the Canucks coughed up bonus points to teams they were battling like St. Louis and Calgary. Since 4 Nations, the Canucks have just five regulation victories which leaves them ahead of only San Jose, Chicago, Boston and Pittsburgh in that category.
4) The pursuit of regulation wins has been particularly challenging on the road.
In 12 road games since the break, the team is 4-6-2. However, with shootout wins in Calgary and New Jersey and an overtime triumph in Los Angeles, that leaves a 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders last week as the team’s lone regulation win on the road since a January 29th game in Nashville. In other words, 11 of 12 opponents have managed to take at least a point off the Canucks in their past 12 road games.
5) Here’s a wild one: no team in the NHL has opened the scoring since 4 Nations more than the Vancouver Canucks.
The team has found the back of the net first in 14 of its 20 games, however it has managed to win only seven of those contests (7-6-1). The first goal of games should matter more than it has. In four of those 14 games, the opening goal turned out to be the only goal the Canucks scored. And on the six occasions, they’ve fallen behind first, they’ve only managed to win once (1-4-1) when they held off Anaheim 3-2 on March 5th.
6) The Canucks have fallen out of the playoff race despite having the best penalty killing in the NHL – and by a considerable margin.
Since February 22, the Canucks have allowed just five power play goals on 49 attempts. At 89.8%, they lead their nearest competitor – Tampa Bay – by 2.6%. The 49 times shorthanded puts the Canucks in the middle of the pack in terms of penalties taken over the stretch, but they have been lights out good while down a man giving up single power play goals in games against Utah, Calgary, Minnesota, New Jersey and Columbus.
7) Pius Suter leads the Canucks in both goals and points over the last 20 games.
The pending UFA has stepped up and answered the challenge in the absence of fellow centres Elias Pettersson and Filip Chytil. Suter has eight goals and 17 points to pace the hockey club since the break. All eight of his goals and 14 of his 17 points have been scored at 5-on-5. With 13, Kiefer Sherwood is the only other player with more than a dozen points as the team has fizzled down the stretch.
8) Quinn Hughes has been limited to 14 of the team’s 20 games and in those outings, the captain has two goals and 11 points.
He hasn’t scored since a March 16th game against Utah – a string of eight games. Since the break, Hughes has been asked to shoulder a considerable workload despite dealing with an injury that kept him out of the 4 Nations tournament. Despite that, he has logged 26:37 a night which is a full minute more per game than his season average of 25:36. It seems less might be more when it comes to maximizing the many talents of the team’s best player.
9) The Canucks have been outscored 34-20 in all situations with Filip Hronek on the ice since February 22nd.
Only two skaters in the league have been on the ice for more goals against over that span. When Hughes was out, Hronek stepped up and played some of his best hockey as a Canuck. He has 10 points in the 20 games in question. However it’s not about his offensive contributions, but his goal prevention. And in combination with some shoddy netminding of late, Hronek has struggled more than most defensively down the stretch.
10) Aaty Räty has been a bright spot in the short time he’s been up with the big club on this recall.
Not only does the young Finn have three goals in five games, but he has been a beast in the face-off circle winning 60.3% of his draws. That is easily the best mark among the team’s current centres. Räty boasts a 38-25 win/loss record including 17-10 on defensive zone draws. To put this in further context, among all NHL centres that have taken more than 60 face-offs in the time in question, Räty ranks seventh in win percentage behind the likes of veteran aces Claude Giroux, John Tavares and J-G Pageau.
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