A look at some of the analytics from the Canucks 3-2 overtime victory over the Washington Capitals.
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 Washington Capitals.
The biggest thing that stood out from an analytical perspective was the discrepancy between scoring chances and high-danger scoring chances. At even strength, the scoring chances battle was close, with the Capitals winning 30-28, but the high-danger chances were very lopsided, with Washington finishing with a 12-5 advantage. This means that while Vancouver was able to generate opportunities throughout the game, they struggled to get to those high-danger areas all night.
The heatmap for this game does an excellent job of illustrating why the Canucks lost the high-danger chance battle. While they could generate chances from just outside the crease, most of their chances, including two goals, came from around the faceoff dot. As for the Capitals, they did a great job at creating chances right in front of Thatcher Demko, which is a big reason why they finished the night with such a significant advantage.
Heatmap by Natural Stat Trick, VAN vs WSH, Feb 11, 2024One player who stood out was Conor Garland. In 14:22 of even-strength ice time, he finished the game with a goal and an xGF% of 75.16. Vancouver also didn't concede an even-strength high-danger chance when he was on the ice and possessed a 6-3 scoring chance advantage during his 14+ minutes. Once again, he was one of the Canucks best players at even-strength and played a massive role in them snapping their mini two-game slide.
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