The Stats Behind Game #74: Canucks 8, Avalanche 6

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 8–6 win against the Colorado Avalanche. 

While the scoring chance battle at the conclusion of last night’s game looks fairly even, for a good chunk of the game, Vancouver led by a fair bit. It wasn’t until the third period that Colorado slammed on the gas, putting up 13 scoring chances-for to bring their overall total to 26. Vancouver, on the other hand, had already generated 21 scoring chances-for through two periods, helping themselves to a 6–3 lead. 

Last night’s game was chaotic from the standpoint of both teams, though surprisingly, the Canucks were able to put more offence on Colorado’s goaltenders from netfront compared to the Avalanche. Defensively speaking, they were able to limit a fair bit of Colorado’s offence from the middle of the ice. 

Statistically speaking, Vancouver’s best line on the night was that of Drew O’Connor, Marco Rossi, and Brock Boeser, who registered a team-high 70% corsi-for in 8:10 minutes played together. The group generated a second-most five scoring chances-for while allowing only three against. 

Individually speaking, though he only played in a team-lowest 6:18 minutes last night, Curtis Douglas finished the game with some strong numbers statistically. He logged the third-highest CF% on his team (62.50%), behind O’Connor (70.59%) and Rossi (63.16%), while also putting up a shockingly high 90.59 xGF%. Douglas also finished the night with a team-high five shots on goal. 

Vancouver will face the Minnesota Wild tonight at 5:00 pm PT, with Nikita Tolopilo likely to start given that Kevin Lankinen played last night. This will also be the first time the Canucks face former captain Quinn Hughes since trading him to the Wild back in December. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.

Latest From THN’s Vancouver Canucks Site: 

Canucks Call-Up Forward Ty Mueller From Abbotsford

Canucks Organization Signs Forward Braden Birnie To Professional Try-Out Agreement

Canucks Recent Goaltending Rotation Has Been Perplexing

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.