We’re going streaking!

The Vancouver Canucks have strung together three wins in a row, beating the Los Angeles Kings by a 4-3 scoreline in overtime. It was by no means the most convincing of performances, with a large chunk of the game flow favouring the Kings for the better part of the second and third. But the Canucks hung in tough, scored goals when they could, and staved off their opposition until they could strike in overtime. Not bad, to say the least.

Here’s the win, by the numbers.

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

Possession-wise, the closest the Canucks came to the Kings throughout the game was in the first period. A CF% of 51.61 was pretty much the high tide in this one, as the rest of the numbers across the board were pretty brutal. Vancouver cracked 30.00 xGF% once, in the first period with a 31.79, while getting caved in in the second and third, the latter resulting in a 12.40 xGF% share. The Corsi numbers weren’t that much better either, as the Canucks dropped into the 30s for the second and third in terms of their possession share metrics. It’s honestly a small miracle that the Canucks didn’t give up more goals against, given how tilted the numbers were, as the xGF battle was a brutal 0.68-2.60 in the final two periods of regulation. But again, credit to them for hanging on and forcing overtime for a chance to win it.

Again, given how all the numbers went for the Canucks in this contest, the heat map that it produced should hardly be a surprise. Los Angeles nearly doubled up on Vancouver in overall scoring chances, sitting at 30-16 during even-strength play. The high-danger chances were even worse, as the Kings were sitting at a 15-4 margin in that category. Getting almost quadrupled in terms of high danger chances is definitely not a recipe for sustained success, so for the Canucks to come out on top in this one is a welcome surprise, according to the numbers.

Corsi Champ: Filip Hronek led the team in CF% last night, totalling a 51.85 while going up against the top line of LA for the entire game. Given that context, it was pretty darn good for the Czech defenceman, as he tallied a 31.14 xGF% to sit at 14.33 xGF% rel to team average. Hronek was on ice for a 9-8 scoring chance lead, which is pretty surprising given how badly outchanced the Canucks were, but did give up a 1-4 high-danger chance hole. Again, though, considering the quality of his opposition and the overall stats on the team, that’s not terrible at all.

Corsi Chump: It’s an interesting trip looking at Brock Boeser’s numbers last night. Sure, he had a team-low 26.32 CF%, but while a 19.49 xGF% was towards the bottom of the team, it still was only a -5.01 xGF% rel to team average. Boeser was on ice for a 3-8 hole in scoring chances, but it only resulted in a marginal 0-1 high-danger chance battle. Seriously, it was pretty neutral given the lack of puck that he was able to have, and pretty good end results to turn in as he faced down Kopitar’s line for the large majority of his 5v5 minutes.

xGF: Nils Höglander paced the Canucks with a 46.37 xGF% and 0.56 xGF last night, managing to tally a pretty tidy assist on the Zeev Buium marker. The Swede managed to be on ice for an 8-5 lead in scoring chances and splitting an even 2-2 high-danger chance battle, which is pretty darn good given the overall numbers that the Canucks faced. It’ll be interesting to see what this offseason has in store for Höglander, who’s been a little disjointed all season and never seemed to find a groove in Vancouver’s lineup.

GSAx: Kevin Lankinen needed to be sharp last night, and he most definitely was between the pipes for the Canucks to get this overtime win. LA posted a 3.59 xGF across all situations, as the Finn turned away everything except three high-danger goals against for a 0.59 GSAx. It doesn’t seem like the most extraordinary of numbers to be putting up, but make no mistake: while the Canucks were down bad in the second and third, Lankinen was balling the heck out to keep them within a chance of winning this game.

More often than not, these kinds of numbers would’ve resulted in a loss. And for the large majority of this season, if the Canucks turned in this kind of statistical effort, they would’ve gotten pumped. But as it was, they clawed and battled, managing to treat their home fans to a win at home in their final game at Rogers Arena, something that has also been a rarity in this brutal year. It’s nice to see, especially as it doesn’t impact their draft position for this upcoming draft.

Vancouver finishes off their season tomorrow night at Rogers Place against the Edmonton Oilers.