Welcome to this edition of the Vancouver Canucks post-game analytics report. This recurring deep dive breaks down the analytics behind each Canucks game as recorded by Natural Stat Trick. In this article, we look back on Vancouver’s most recent 5-4 loss to the New Jersey Devils.
Overall, Friday’s game was close both on the scoreboard and from an analytics perspective. The Devils won the even-strength scoring chance battle 26-23 while the Canucks created more even-strength high-danger scoring chances by a count of 11-9. In the end, New Jersey’s power play was the difference as the Devils scored twice with the man advantage.
As for the heatmap, neither team did a great job of protecting the middle of the ice. There was plenty of traffic in front of both goaltenders, with six of the nine goals coming from below the faceoff dots. From Vancouver’s perspective, leaving players open in front of the net has been an issue all season, which once again played a factor in their loss.
To wrap this game up, the trio of Nils Höglander, David Kämpf and Linus Karlsson had a strong night. During their 7:01 of ice time, the line had a 5-1 shots advantage while posting an xGF% of 82.89. In the end, the bottom six really showed up in this game as they won their matchup while also producing a goal.
The Canucks are back in action on Sunday when they welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins to Rogers Arena. Pittsburgh picked up a victory the last time these two teams played by a score of 5-1. Game time is scheduled for 3:00 pm PT.
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