Somewhere amongst the trades, a hockey game was played.

The Vancouver Canucks’ 5-3 loss to Tom Gaglardi’s Dallas Stars took a backseat to the JT Miller trade and subsequent deal with the Penguins. But, that’s what this article is focusing on (don’t worry, there’s plenty of trade coverage). The game was a typical Canucks game – not a lot of chances and not a lot of high-danger chances. They did keep it interesting, but in the end, the Stars pulled it out without too much fuss. And for what it was worth, the action on the ice definitely took a step to the side for the action off of it.

Here’s the loss, by the numbers.

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

This game never quite got out of hand for either team. Unfortunately for the Canucks, that meant that when they were chasing the game, they weren’t able to get the leverage and momentum needed to even things up. Vancouver managed to get themselves a solid 63.01 and 53.15 xGF% shares in the second and third periods, but looking at the raw xGF, Vancouver only managed to total 0.74 xGF in the periods combined. Consider that Dallas recorded 0.98 xGF in the first period alone for comparison. The Canucks simply weren’t at the races at 5v5, and in that end it cost them a chance at keeping their win streak alive.

The heat map reflects the fact that the Canucks couldn’t manage many quality chances at 5v5, with not a lot of scoring chances either. Dallas held a 18-13 lead in overall chances with an 11-5 edge in high-danger chances. Proportionally, that’s a lot of high-danger chances to be giving up, and it shows in the hot spot that sat right in the low-slot area. On the other hand, Vancouver didn’t have anything remotely close to match with that. However, the Canucks were able to close the gap slightly when on the powerplay, recording 6 high-danger chances and actually being a little threatening on special teams.

Corsi Champ: Jake DeBrusk led the Canucks with a 64.00 CF% but didn’t have the best of nights at 5v5. On ice for two goals against off 4 high-danger chances, the winger was only present for 1 high-danger chance for in favour of the Canucks. That left him with a 52.59 xGF%, which isn’t horrible but not really doing much to push the needle in the Canucks’ favour offensively. Still, he benefited plenty from playing alongside Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser last night as Vancouver’s defacto first line.

Corsi Chump: With how the Miller trade panned out mere moments before puck drop, Pius Suter ended up being part of the “second line” in terms of TOI. But, the Swiss centerman also posted a team-low 41.18 CF% while also producing the second-worst xGF% of 27.55. Most of that came from a 0.68 xGA, which was the third-most given up by any Canuck. Fortunately, Suter didn’t cost the Canucks any goals against, and for the sudden stopgap situation that he was placed in, he didn’t do too poorly.

xGF: You know, Quinn Hughes can make anyone look good, but Tyler Myers is honestly not doing too bad himself either. The big defenceman came in with a team-best 75.45 xGF%, managing to hold a 7-1 scoring chance split with a 2-0 lead in high-danger chances. He kept things low event and even managed to be on ice for one of the goals Vancouver scored last night. With Marcus Pettersson being acquired to round out the top 4, it suddenly looks pretty decent if Myers can keep this level of play up. He seems to have discovered something since his suspension and it’s showing on the ice. In terms of raw xGF, Filip Hronek led all Canucks with a 0.77 on the night at 5v5 play.

GSAx: Thatcher Demko regressed a little last night. With the Stars only managing to total 2.07 xGF, it meant the American netminder got outdueled handily by his counterpart, giving up a -0.98 GSAx against Dallas. At the very least, all three goals against were high-danger chances, but for Demko it’s the kind of stuff that he should be trying to prevent. 14 shots and 3 goals is never a good look, and the stats reflect a poorer night on his part.

All the toys: With Miller gone, Pettersson has his wingers. So how did they perform? The DeBrusk-Pettersson-Boeser line probably deserved a goal or two, as statistically they were really quite strong. They held a 66.67 CF% for a team-best, put up 0.37 xGF which was also a team-best and 0.11 xGF ahead of second place, posted 0.15 xGA which was a team-best as well, and a 71.67 xGF% to finish as the only forward unit with a positive expected goals share. Actually, no other forward line broke 31.00 xGF%. Now, they didn’t end up scoring and in fact were on ice for a goal against at 5v5 – but with the metrics that they posted, it feels like sooner or later a dam is about to break for them production-wise. The Vancouver market will be sure to focus on that, specifically on Pettersson’s shoulders, as this is well and truly his forward group now.

Where the defence did well for themselves with one exception: It’s a broken record at this point, but it should be pointed out that Hughes-Myers and Forbort-Hronek did pretty darn well for themselves, with Forbort and Myers leading all Canucks in xGF% and the pairings tallying well above 50.00 CF%. They were really solid and should be commended for managing to hold their weight against the opposition that they faced. However, all of this was brought down by the sheer mess of the Soucy-Juulsen pairing, with the duo finishing well below 35.00 xGF% and giving up 6 high-danger chances against. Now if they were holding up their bargain defensively, their anemic offensive showings could probably be forgiven. But when they’re not making a difference alongside your first line? Things need to change.

The Canucks didn’t do the things that made them successful in the previous 3 games. That’s probably a little understandable, given the major piece that was shipped out mere moments before the game began, and now, after the game, with another chunk moved and replaced. It remains to be seen if the new additions can make any sort of positive impact and get the Canucks some more sustainable success, but for this one – it just wasn’t the best showing. Demko didn’t perform to his previous standard, and Vancouver simply just didn’t get anything going offensively until it was too late. It’s how it goes sometimes.

The Canucks will return home to host the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday.