A look at some of the analytics from the Canucks 3-2 overtime win over the Boston Bruins.
Welcome to this edition of "The Stats Behind The Game." This recurring deep dive breaks down the analytics behind each Vancouver Canucks game as recorded by Natural Stat Trick. In this article, we look back on the Canucks most recent 3-2 overtime win over the Boston Bruins.
While this game was decided in overtime, Vancouver dominated on the analytics side. They held a 30-14 scoring chance advantage at even strength and won the high-danger chances battle 12-6. It is safe to say the Canucks bounced back from a sloppy game against the Seattle Kraken as they had more even-strength scoring chances in the third period alone against the Bruins (16) than they had the entire game against Seattle (13).
One reason Vancouver was successful is that they weren't afraid to shoot from anywhere and everywhere in the offensive zone. In total, Jeremy Swayman faced ten high-danger shots, with two of them, including the game-winner going in. Shot generation has been a problem for the Canucks all season, so it is a positive sign that they were being less picky with where they were shooting from and actually got pucks on net.
As for their work in the defensive zone, this was virtually a perfect game. Outside of the first goal, which was a missed assignment, Vancouver made life easy for Thatcher Demko, who only faced three high-danger shots during the game. Whether it was blocking shots on keeping the Bruins players to the outside, the Canucks defensive play deserves a lot of credit for the way the team performed against Boston.
As for standout performances at even-strength, there were a lot of them. Quinn Hughes finished the night with an 18-6 scoring chances advantage, while Filip Hronek, who scored the game-tying goal, held a 17-6 shots advantage on the ice. While those numbers are impressive, it was Nikita Zadorov who shined in what may have been his best game since being traded to Vancouver. In 15:16 of even-strength ice time, he had an xGF% of 82.57 while the Canucks outshot the Bruins 12-2. He was also not on the ice for a high-danger scoring chance and finished with a primary assist on Brock Boeser's first goal. He looked confident with the puck on his stick all night and showed that he can step up when his team needs him the most.
Lastly, one line that had a strong game was the trio of Arshdeep Bains, Elias Lindholm and Conor Garland. In 9:34 of ice time, Vancouver's third line finished with a 9-3 shot advantage and won the scoring chances battle 4-1. While they didn't play the entire game together, as Rick Tocchet did shorten his bench in the third, they played well as a line and should be kept together going into the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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