That was definitely a game of hockey played between two teams, each icing 5 skaters and a goalie at a time.

In a very uneventful affair, the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 in overtime. Vancouver did look like they were playing some good hockey, but it’s also important to consider that their opponents very much weren’t too invested in this game either. It wouldn’t be surprising to hear that anyone fell asleep during the many lulls in this game. Still, there are some numbers to unpack, even with the lack of anything extremely exciting happening throughout the duration of the matchup.

Here’s the win, by the numbers.

As always, you can find our glossary guide of advanced stats here.

It’s probably not a surprise to see the game flow stay in favour of Vancouver throughout. While there wasn’t a lot going on, the majority of the puck possession and chances belonged to the Canucks. Even on the Anaheim power play , there wasn’t a spike in the visitor’s favour, suggesting that either Vancouver’s penalty kill is really good or the Ducks were simply just having that much trouble generating chances. Overall, the Canucks doubled up on the Ducks in scoring chances (31-15), with a 13-7 differential in high-danger opportunities. Vancouver held an impressive 65.71 CF% in the third period alone.

As mentioned before, the Ducks only had 7 high-danger chances along with 15 scoring opportunities overall. It shouldn’t be a surprise that their heat map really isn’t packing much heat then, with a barely blue spot in the slot area. Both their goals came in high-danger areas, suggesting that when Anaheim did get the puck into those spots, they were quite clinical with their finishing. On the other hand, it also gives the impression that the Canucks lapsed defensively to allow for those opportunities.

Offensively, it’s a good heat map for the Canucks. They established one high-density attempt area right in the middle of the slot. While it isn’t as close to the crease as in previous games, it’s still a good area to be working pucks into. It should also be encouraging that the majority of their chances came at 5v5, attempting at a high rate in good areas of the ice regardless of the situation.

Corsi Champ: Elias Pettersson is elite. That’s just a statement of fact, with yet another excellent showing under his belt. Pettersson led the Canucks with a 71.79 CF%, sitting at a 22.50 CF% rel compared to the team average. Not only did he have two assists, but when Pettersson was on ice, the Canucks got 19 unblocked attempts towards the net, outshooting the Ducks 10-5. He’s been finding another gear as of late and is a big part of why the Canucks have been earning points in these last couple of games.

Corsi Chump: Sheldon Dries has been a pleasant surprise thus far this season, but the magic might be running out. He brought up the rear in the Corsi department with a 35.71 CF%, unfortunately dragging Vasily Podkolzin and Vitali Kravtsov’s numbers down along with him. Fortunately, Dries did decently well for himself in terms of offensive impact, staying at a 58.35 xGF%. Not a terrible showing, but the results might not be as generous against better opposition.

xGF: Once again, Elias Pettersson continues to be phenomenal. He led the Canucks in xGF% last night as well, racking up 83.86 xGF%. His 27.59 xGF% rel stood at 10 percentage points ahead of second place, while Pettersson’s 1.45 xGF finished as the second-highest on the team. What stands out the most is his excellent defensive numbers though, a 0.28 xGA ranking as the third-best Canuck. Pettersson saw a 16-6 shot differential while he was on ice.

GSAx: This game was Thatcher Demko’s roughest game since his return, statistically. That’s a pretty good thing, all things considered. With the Ducks only managing an anemic 1.45 xGF throughout the game, Demko’s GSAx suffers a little at a -0.55. It comes thanks to the Ducks only managing their limited amount of chances, with just 22 shots put towards Demko. He was once again perfect in all areas except for 2 high-danger goals against.

Vitali Kravtsov underrated game: Whereas the Preds game saw Podkolzin put up some good play-driving numbers, Kravtsov had himself a very solid game analytically against the Ducks. Though his numbers don’t pop off of the page, the Russian was a big reason why his linemates were staying above par. Without them, Kravtsov was averaging 90.00 CF% and 100.00 xGF%, while pulling them up from numbers in the mid-twenties when they were on a line together. It’s interesting to see each of the Russians taking turns stepping up during games, and the hope is that perhaps both of them will become much more consistent as they develop.

The Canucks were good last night. Yes, the game might’ve been boring and uneventful, but those happen from time to time. Statistically, there isn’t much to complain about in a result like this, with much of the team performing as advertised or better. With development being the key part of the season at this point, the product on the ice comes under scrutiny for that reason. From that perspective, it’s been pretty good and interesting to see things unfold. For those hoping for better lottery odds though, the string of points has not been too awesome.

Vancouver has a bit of a break before the Ottawa Senators roll into town on Saturday.