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The Statsies: Buium leads possession, Lekkerimäki nets lone goal as Canucks fall to Flyers

Photo credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images

By Jeffrey Kennett

Nov 10, 2026, 11:53 EST

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Unfortunately for viewers, the Vancouver Canucks have developed a habit of waiting until the third period to start playing their best hockey.

Monday’s 3-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers was another long night in what figures to be a season full of them. While the team struggled through two periods before finding its footing in the third, there were some intriguing individual performances to build on, with Zeev Buium and Filip Hronek posting strong underlying numbers and Jonathan Lekkerimäki scoring Vancouver’s lone goal against former coach Rick Tocchet’s squad.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to celebrate elsewhere, especially after Philadelphia entered Rogers Arena with three straight losses.

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

Game Flow

Philadelphia controlled 70% of five-on-five shot attempts in the first period, outattempting the Canucks 21-9 and generating 0.93 expected goals against just 0.26 while holding a staggering 6-1 advantage in high-danger chances.

Things hardly improved in the middle frame, as Vancouver managed eight shot attempts against Philadelphia’s 19, finishing with a 29.63 CF% and 30.72 xGF%.

Then came the third-period reversal. Vancouver outattempted Philadelphia 21-3 at five-on-five, controlling 87.5% of attempts and 79.54% of expected goals. The Canucks generated nine shots on goal while surrendering just one, though the Flyers protected a two-goal lead for much of that stretch.

Heat Map

Much of Philadelphia’s offensive pressure came from around the crease and through the slot, translating into a lopsided distribution of dangerous opportunities. Vancouver surrendered 12 high-danger chances while generating just four of its own.

Vancouver’s attempts were more dispersed, with activity around the faceoff circles but fewer sustained opportunities directly in front of Joseph Woll.

Across all situations, the Canucks generated 2.19 expected goals against Philadelphia’s 2.62, although the Flyers still controlled 14 of the game’s 21 high-danger chances. Vancouver’s power play accounted for 1.07 expected goals during 7:26 of five-on-four time, with all three of its high-danger opportunities coming in the third period. The Flyers converted once on two opportunities, producing 0.41 xGF.

Considering the Canucks entered Monday with the league’s worst penalty kill, surrendering another power-play goal was hardly surprising, but what made this performance particularly frustrating was how little Vancouver accomplished offensively before the final frame.

Individual Advanced Stats

Corsi Champ: Zeev Buium led Vancouver with a 68.75 CF% at five-on-five, as the Canucks outattempted Philadelphia 22-10 during his 23:18. The sophomore defenceman helped control eight scoring chances against three, including a 3-1 advantage in high-danger opportunities. Given the early-season concerns surrounding Buium and Hronek’s play as a pair, Monday offered a considerably more optimistic picture. Hronek finished with a 63.33 CF% and 72.12 xGF% in his own five-on-five minutes, suggesting Vancouver’s top defensive pairing was doing its part to keep the team above water.

Corsi Chump: Luke Schenn finished with a team-low 26.09 CF% during his 7:48 at five-on-five. Philadelphia outattempted Vancouver 17-6 in those minutes and controlled scoring chances 12-2. The high-danger numbers were particularly glaring, with the Flyers generating eight opportunities against just one for Vancouver.

xGF: Brock Boeser was Vancouver’s most effective player by expected-goals share, finishing with an outstanding 87.01 xGF% at five-on-five. During his 13:49, the Canucks generated 0.52 expected goals against just 0.08, controlling four scoring chances to one. Elias Pettersson, the centre, wasn’t far behind, recording an 84.66 xGF% and a 61.90 CF%. Lekkerimäki deserves recognition, too; after being promoted alongside Pettersson and Boeser, he finished with a 71.75 xGF% despite controlling only 41.67% of shot attempts at five-on-five.

GSAx: Leevi Meriläinen stopped 14 of 16 shots for an .875 save percentage, allowing two goals against 2.08 expected goals before being pulled for the extra-attacker. That works out to a slightly positive 0.08 goals saved above expected, with Philadelphia’s third goal coming into an empty net. At five-on-five, Meriläinen actually performed admirably, stopping 11 of 12 shots against 1.65 expected goals and his plus-0.65 GSAx in those minutes suggests Vancouver’s goaltender wasn’t responsible for the deficit his teammates failed to overcome. Joseph Woll, meanwhile, delivered the better performance, turning aside 18 of 19 shots and posting a plus-1.19 GSAx.

Statistical Musings

The Bains-Cotter-DeBrusk experiment went nowhere: During 6:17 together, Arshdeep Bains, Paul Cotter and Jake DeBrusk were outattempted 14-1, producing an astonishingly poor 6.67 CF%. Cotter finished with a 10.81 xGF% individually, once again the lowest on Vancouver’s roster, while the Canucks surrendered seven high-danger opportunities during his five-on-five minutes. Bains wasn’t particularly effective either, posting a 27.27 CF% and 18.59 xGF%. After his unsuccessful promotion to the top line against Edmonton on Saturday, the winger has struggled to establish himself in either role.

Philly’s young talent caused plenty of problems: The trio of Porter Martone, Noah Cates and Matvei Michkov was one of the Flyers’ most effective combinations, posting a remarkable 93.53 xGF% in 9:43 together. Philadelphia outattempted Vancouver 8-5 during those minutes, but the quality of those opportunities was the real difference. The line controlled scoring chances 5-1 and held a 3-0 advantage in high-danger looks, generating 0.30 expected goals while surrendering just 0.02.

Lekkerimäki is earning a longer leash: After being promoted to the top line, the young winger logged 18:59, including 6:16 on the power play. Across all situations, Vancouver controlled scoring chances 10-1 with Lekkerimäki on the ice and held a 4-0 advantage in high-danger opportunities. All seven of the Canucks’ five-on-four scoring chances came during his minutes, showing just how involved he was in their late offensive push.

As a team

CF% – 46.91% | HDCF% – 25.00% | xGF% – 40.38%

After score and venue adjustments, the Canucks’ CF% dropped to 40.44%, while their HDCF% fell to 20.64% and xGF% declined to 34.98% — differences that illustrate how much the late push inflated Vancouver’s possession figures after Philadelphia had already packed up for the night.

Perhaps the most frustrating part was that this performance came against another struggling team, one playing its second game in as many nights and with Rick Tocchet behind the bench. On the other hand, Vancouver had a few individual successes, particularly from Buium and its top offensive players, but the rebuilding Canucks still have a lot of season left to go.

Now, they’re staring at six consecutive losses, a 3-16-1 record, and an opponent that entered the night with only one more win than they did, and at some point, the Canucks will need to find their spirit before they’re already chasing the game.

All statistics courtesy of naturalstattrick.com

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