The Canucks finished their seven-game road trip with a 5-1-1 record.

The Vancouver Canucks finished arguably their toughest stretch of the season, going 5-1-1 on their seven-game road trip. Outscoring their opponents 26-17, they extended their Pacific Division lead to seven points and finished the road trip atop the NHL standings. Here are some stats and facts from the past seven games. 

Starting off, one of the most significant factors behind the Canucks successful road trip was their penalty kill. Over the seven games, Vancouver killed off 17 of their 20 penalties for a penalty kill percentage of 85%. In comparison, through their first 38 games, they had a kill rate of 78.1%.  

There are a few reasons behind the Canucks revitalized penalty kill, but arguably the biggest may be that Vancouver is taking fewer penalties. Over the first 38 games, the Canucks averaged 3.0 penalties per game, while on the road trip, their average was 2.86. Even though this is a small sample size, it shows that Vancouver is playing more disciplined and that they have finally found a successful formula on the penalty kill. 

Now, onto the offence, which was spectacular for the majority of the trip. As mentioned, they outscored their opposition 26-17 while holding a 24-14 edge at even-strength. Led by the lotto line, who outscored their opponents 12-3 while at even strength, Vancouver was able to show that not only can their top players put on a show, but that they can get balanced scoring from the rest of their lineup. 

While the lotto line was dominant from an offensive perspective, some interesting analytics came out of this seven-game road trip in relation to their play. With Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser on the ice at even strength, the Canucks were outshot 52-42 and lost the high-danger chance battle 32-14. The big difference, though, is that they were able to capitalize on their opportunities, holding a 7-0 advantage in high-danger chance goals. Losing the analytics battle isn't the end of the world, but it is something Vancouver needs to monitor, as it could be a sign of things to come. 

Lastly, the goaltending was spectacular for the majority of this road trip. Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith held the opposition to 2.43 goals per game while facing an average of 32 shots per night. Maybe the most impressive stat, however, is that according to Natural Stat Trick, they allowed just four high-danger chance goals on 52 high-danger chance shots. Both have provided the Canucks with stellar play all season and stepped up for Vancouver throughout the road trip. 

Arguably the most crucial part of this road trip is that the Canucks showed confidence throughout. They held leads after the second period in six of the seven games and trailed for less than 15 minutes the entire trip. Not only did they show that they can adapt to different time zones and start times, but they also demonstrated why they should be in the contender conversation. 

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