Getting it done on Long Island.
The Vancouver Canucks came up huge in their game against the New York Islanders, winning 5-2 when the stakes couldn’t have been higher. A loss might not have fully mathematically eliminated them, but it would’ve taken a huge chunk out of their chances to make the playoffs. As it was though, it was yet another gutsy effort on the road, with the depth stepping up big time, along with strong performances from the blueline.
Here’s the win, by the numbers.
As always, you can find our glossary guide of advanced stats here.

Game Flow

The opening period didn’t look to promising for the Canucks. While it didn’t start off too poorly, by the end of the first period, the Islanders were holding a 58.14 CF% share along with a massive 70.01 xGF%. Those kinds of numbers don’t usually bode well for success, but the Canucks managed to turn it around by the end of the second period. Sitting at a 57.89 CF% and a 68.61 xGF%, Vancouver nearly managed to wipe out all of the 1.19 xGA they gave up in the first with a 1.35 xGF in the second period. The third period was pretty impressive as well – despite the Islanders pushing to tie, it was the Canucks that held a 56.25 CF% share and limiting their opposition to just three high-danger chances on a 47.11 xGF%.

Heat Map

The heat map was a pretty impressive facet of last night’s matchup as well. Vancouver held slim edges in overall scoring chances at 25-23 and a 13-11 lead in high-danger chances. What also stands out is that the Canucks did not give up a single 5v5 goal against. Obviously, giving up a shorthanded goal isn’t ideal, but playing great defensive hockey at even strength usually means that a team will come out on top. The Canucks do need to figure out offence generation on their power play, however – they only managed to create 1 high-danger chance on their lone man-advantage opportunity.

Individual Advanced Stats

Corsi Champ: Of all players, this is a name that one probably didn’t expect to be leading this category. Derek Forbort posted the team’s best CF% at 66.67, eating up his minutes by only allowing a 0.21 xGA, the team’s second-best tally. Forbort didn’t allow a single high-danger chance in that span as well, playing a big role in the excellent defensive performance the Canucks had at 5v5 last night. If your third-pairing defenceman is recording these kinds of numbers, that generally means that things have gone pretty well.
Corsi Chump: On the flip side (hah, get it?), Filip Hronek finished with the team’s worst CF% at 33.33. Drawing in alongside Quinn Hughes, the pair of them were tasked with taking on the Islanders’ best players. As a result, the numbers weren’t the greatest. Hronek posted a team-worst 21.96 xGF% from a 1.53 xGA, which was also a team-low. He was on ice for seven high-danger chances against, which was a pretty darn decent chunk of what New York created last night.
xGF: D-Petey benefitted from playing alongside Forbort last night, as he posted the team’s best xGF% of 68.73. Elias Pettersson kept things low-event and didn’t allow much to happen, if at all, during his minutes, which is really all you want out of your third pairing and especially a young defenceman like the Swede. In terms of raw xGF, Tyler Myers posted a massive 1.80 to lead the Canucks. The defenceman was on ice for a 17-7 scoring chance differential, with an 8-4 high-danger chance differential to boot. A pretty solid performance all around.
GSAx: Thatcher Demko was brilliant. The Islanders dumped 3.44 xGF on him, and the netminder came up huge, ensuring that only two high-danger goals got past him for a 1.44 GSAx. That’s some really impressive dealing, especially considering that high-danger goals are the most likely to be converted into goals. Demko more than did his fair share and looked like the Vezina candidate of old, which is pretty darn good considering the injury layoff that he had.

Statistical Musings

Third line putting in work: Drew O’Connor – Teddy Blueger – Conor Garland lined up with each other last night and put in a ton of work. Leading the team with a 56.52 CF% as a trio, the line went on to record the best xGF% share of 59.01, being the only unit to crack the 50.00 CF% threshold all night. For that line to post those kinds of two-way results, especially given that they’re playing in an elevated role due to injuries, is pretty admirable, and one that definitely helped contribute to the Canucks win last night.
Like Icarus: The forward line of Kiefer Sherwood – Aatu Räty – Dakota Joshua were playing a dangerous game against the Isles. They flew high, tallying a 0.85 xGF, which was the highest amongst any Canuck forward line at 5v5 play. However, by that same token, they gave up a 1.20 xGA, with the next highest line on the team recording a 0.41 xGA. That comes with the territory of giving up five high-danger chances against – but at the same time, no other line recorded close to their five HDCF. It didn’t burn them in this game, but the defensive results were a little of concern. However, when they’re getting that kind of offence… It’s a bit of a double-edged sword.

As a team

CF% – 49.62% HDCF% – 46.67% xGF% – 51.21%
The Canucks played a gutsy game of hockey to win this one. Riding out a surge from the Isles, the team fought back and played some darn good hockey, even discounting the fact that they are undermanned. The depth stepped up into elevated roles once more, and the Canucks got good performances out of the other four defencemen while the top pair didn’t have their best game. And between the pipes, Thatcher Demko was lights out once more. To put it simply, it was close to being a complete performance, and the Canucks have once more lived to fight another day from that result.
Vancouver ventures slightly westward, going into Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets tomorrow.
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