The Canucks defenceman had missed the previous 23 games with injury.

After missing 23 games with a lower-body injury, Carson Soucy made his return to the Vancouver Canucks lineup Saturday versus the New Jersey Devils. Playing beside Tyler Myers, Soucy recorded his highest ice time in a Canucks jersey, logging 20:19 in the victory. Here is a look at some of his numbers from his first game in almost two months.

Starting with the counting statistics, Soucy impacted both ends of the ice. He recorded a secondary assist on Vancouver's third goal and led the team with four blocked shots. Arguably, the most important statistic is that he finished the night with a plus-two rating and was not on the ice for a goal against. In short, he did his job and played an essential role in helping the Canucks secure two points against the Devils. 

Diving into the analytics, they back up the claim that Soucy had a meaningful impact on the game. While on the ice, Vancouver outshot the Devils 11-6 in all situations, while the Canucks finished the night with a 5-2 advantage when it came to high-danger chances. Whether it was against New Jersey's top players or their bottom six, he was able to limit the Devil's opportunities all night while posting an xGF% above 50% against all but two players on the roster. 

The big question now is where does Soucy fit on Vancouver's blue line. He got back into the lineup because of a Nikita Zadorov injury, but the big Russian is only expected to be out day to day and will be inserted back in once fully healthy. This would mean either moving him or Ian Cole over to the right side, which works but isn't the best long-term solution. Regardless, the good news for right now is that he looks ready to be a difference-maker on the defensive side of the game. 

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