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The Statsies: Liam Öhgren and Marco Rossi two Canucks bright spots in loss to Jets

Photo credit: Terrence Lee-Imagn Images

By Jeffrey Kennett

Nov 6, 2026, 11:00 EST

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The Winnipeg Jets needed a confidence boost, and the Vancouver Canucks were all too happy to oblige.

Liam Öhgren scored again, Marco Rossi generated a surprising amount of individual offence, and Jonathan Lekkerimäki continued to stake his claim to a permanent top-six role, but the rest of the lineup struggled to keep up.

Here’s the game, by the numbers. As always, our glossary of advanced statistics is available here.

Game Flow

For a team that surrendered three goals in the opening period, Vancouver’s five-on-five expected-goals numbers were more decent than you would think.

The Canucks generated 1.14 expected goals against Winnipeg’s 0.61 in the first, accounting for 64.99% of the total despite being outattempted 17-11. Their scoring chances were much closer at 7-6, and Vancouver was getting into dangerous positions when it managed to establish possession. Of course, those numbers offered little comfort on the scoreboard.

Things deteriorated in the second. The Jets controlled 59.26% of shot attempts and 72.40% of expected goals, generating 1.44 xGF compared to Vancouver’s 0.55, but more concerning was the disparity in high-danger opportunities, where Winnipeg held a 7-3 advantage.

By the third period, the Canucks had started to recover territorially, finishing with a 56.76 CF% and 52.71 xGF%. However, that improvement came with Winnipeg protecting a four-goal lead, making the late possession numbers difficult to celebrate.

Heat Map

Winnipeg generated heavier concentrations of unblocked attempts around Vancouver’s net, particularly through the slot and the right side of the offensive zone. Their 14-10 advantage in high-danger chances at five-on-five reflected the difficulty the Canucks had defending the middle of the ice.

Vancouver’s opportunities were more scattered, with some activity around the crease and faceoff circles, but considerably less sustained pressure in the most threatening areas.

Across all situations, Winnipeg finished with 15 high-danger chances compared to Vancouver’s 11, while generating 3.24 expected goals against 2.76.

Special teams contributed to the damage, although they weren’t nearly as destructive as in Anaheim. The Jets converted once in 5:23 of power-play time, generating 0.47 expected goals, while Vancouver’s lone opportunity produced 0.24 xGF without a goal.

Considering the Canucks entered the contest with a penalty kill operating at just 63.2%, another goal against was hardly surprising. As previously examined at Daily Faceoff Vancouver, the struggles shorthanded have complicated nearly every aspect of the team’s defensive game.

Even then though, surrendering five goals at five-on-five means Vancouver had considerably more problems than its penalty killing on Thursday.

Individual Advanced Stats

Corsi Champ: Liam Öhgren was Vancouver’s most effective player, finishing with a team-leading 73.91 CF% at five-on-five. During his 11:50 of ice time, the Canucks outattempted Winnipeg 17-6 and controlled scoring chances 11-4. His 82.38 xGF% was equally impressive, with Vancouver generating 1.43 expected goals against just 0.31 while he was on the ice. His most dominant stretch came alongside Linus Karlsson and Max Sasson. During 3:50 together, that trio outattempted Winnipeg 11-1 and generated 85.66% of expected goals. It’s a limited sample, but one that perhaps the Canucks should explore further.

Corsi Chump: Vancouver controlled just 17.65% of shot attempts during Paul Cotter’s 11:01 at five-on-five, getting outattempted 14-3. The Canucks generated only one scoring chance while surrendering eight, including five high-danger opportunities without producing any of their own. His 7.02 xGF% was the lowest on the team, and Vancouver was outscored 3-0 during his minutes. Cotter, Sasson and Brendan Gallagher were particularly ineffective as a unit. Across 3:45 together, Winnipeg held a 5-0 advantage in shot attempts and prevented Vancouver from generating a single scoring chance. It was a night of extremes for Sasson, who helped drive Vancouver’s most dominant possession stretch alongside Öhgren but struggled mightily when paired with Cotter.

xGF: Although Öhgren led the team in xGF% as pointed out previously, Rossi had an impressive bounce-back effort, finishing with a 77.27 xGF%, and generating 1.58 expected goals against 0.47 during his 12:48 at five-on-five. The Austrian centre recorded seven shots on goal and 1.18 individual expected goals, accounting for nearly half of Vancouver’s total five-on-five xGF by himself.

GSAx: Leevi Meriläinen stopped 23 of 29 shots for a .793 save percentage, allowing six goals against 3.24 expected goals, and produced a minus-2.76 goals saved above expected. His five-on-five performance was similarly troubling, surrendering five goals on 26 shots despite facing 2.77 expected goals, finishing with a minus-2.23 GSAx. Stuart Skinner wasn’t spectacular at the opposite end either, but he did enough, stopping 24 of 26 shots and finishing with a positive 0.76 GSAx. For a Canucks team still working through its goaltending situation, Thursday was a reminder that Meriläinen is still developing, even if he’s generally offered more stability than Kevin Lankinen.

Statistical Musings

Vancouver’s top line comes back to Earth: What a difference two days can make. After dominating Anaheim with a 78.64 xGF%, the combination of Jake DeBrusk, Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser controlled just 16.47% of expected goals during 9:24 together against Winnipeg. The trio generated only one scoring chance while surrendering five, including a 4-0 deficit in high-danger opportunities, and being outscored 1-0 in their minutes.

One Pettersson had a much better night than the other: While the centre struggled, during defenceman Elias Pettersson’s 18:05 at five-on-five Vancouver controlled 60.74% of expected goals, generating 1.18 xGF against 0.76. His 44% CF% was less impressive, but the difference between those figures suggests the Canucks were creating better opportunities than Winnipeg during his shifts. That didn’t translate to the scoreboard, where he was on the ice for two goals against, but still, the expected-goals results indicate good process.

Buium’s plus-minus tells only part of the story: Zeev Buium finished plus-1, a rare positive on Vancouver’s scoresheet, but his underlying numbers were much less flattering. The sophomore defenceman recorded a 47.62 CF% and 38.28 xGF% at five-on-five, with Winnipeg controlling seven high-danger chances against four during his 21:05. His score-adjusted expected-goals share fell to 35.31%, insinuating that the favourable goal differential wasn’t necessarily indicative of his overall play.

One more thing: Jonathan Lekkerimäki finished with a 75.98 xGF% at five-on-five. Alongside Liam Öhgren and Marco Rossi, the young winger helped the Canucks control 71.61% of expected goals across 6:54 together, generating five scoring chances while surrendering three. That’s a substantial improvement from their previous outing against Anaheim, when the same trio managed just 14.17 xGF%. After the coaching staff put the three together in hopes of generating more offence, Thursday offered some evidence that the experiment could work. It’s a small sample, but the turnaround gives Vancouver good reason to see what the combination can accomplish with more time together.

As a team

CF% – 46.74% | HDCF% – 41.67% | xGF% – 47.32%

Thursday’s performance was a significant regression from Vancouver’s recent efforts, particularly after several games in which the advanced stats suggested the team was beginning to find some form.

During Tuesday’s loss to Anaheim, the Canucks were competitive for stretches and had plenty of opportunities to win, but against Winnipeg, their problems were much more apparent, as after score and venue adjustments, the figures above dropped to 41.79%, 40.51% and 44.94%, respectively.

For a rebuilding club, individual development is important, even when the wins are scarce. Unfortunately, Vancouver is finding creative ways to make those silver linings difficult to appreciate, like an uninspired effort against another bottom-tier Canadian team in decline.

All statistics courtesy of naturalstattrick.com

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