A look at some of the analytics from the Canucks 6-4 victory over the New Jersey Devils.
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 6-4 win over the New Jersey Devils.
While the scoreline was close at the end, this was a game Vancouver dominated through the first two periods. By the second intermission, the Canucks held a 28-11 advantage in even-strength scoring chances and created 15 high-danger chances compared to the Devils' three. Even though New Jersey did push back in the third and finished the period with the advantage in scoring chances high-danger chances, Vancouver had already built up a big enough lead to weather the storm en route to a win.
Arguably, the most impressive part of the analytics from this game is the heatmap. As displayed below, the Canucks rarely allowed a shot from the high-danger zone right in front of the net. As for their play, they crashed the net all night, resulting in four goals plus one that was called back due to goaltender interference. If Vancouver wants to succeed come playoff time, they will need to play the same style and produce a similar heatmap to the one versus the Devils.
Heatmap by Natural Stat Trick, Van vs Njd, Jan 6, 2024Lastly, let's dive into the lotto line, which was superb from start to finish. Made up of Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser, the trio outscored New Jersey 4-0 in 13:19 of ice time and held an 8-5 advantage on the shot clock. They also finished the night with a scoring chances advantage of 10-6 while winning the high-danger chances battle 5-1. While this is a break glass in case of an emergency line, it was great to see that they still had chemistry and that, if needed, could be put together to propel Vancouver to victory.
Ensure to check back after the game against the New York Rangers for another edition of "The Stats Behind The Game."
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