A look at some of the analytics from the Canucks 10-7 loss to the Minnesota Wild.
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 10-7 loss to the Minnesota Wild.
This game was divided into two parts. At even-strength, Vancouver was the slightly better team, but that doesn't matter as the Wild's power play was the dominating factor on the night. A good way to illustrate just how big of a factor special teams played, so let's compare the analytics.
At even-strength, the Canucks led the Wild in scoring chances 27-24 and high-danger scoring chances 11-8. With power plays included Minnesota finished the night with a 37-30 scoring chance advantage and a 13-12 lead in high-danger scoring chances. While it is common for teams to receive an analytical boost on the power play, the Wild added 13 to their scoring chances total on special teams alone. It may be a simple statement to make after the fact, but the analytics back up just how costly Vancouver's undisciplined play was in the grand scheme of the game.
Moving onto the heatmap, while the shot totals weren't high, both teams did an excellent job of getting to high-danger areas. The heatmap also shows that this was a tough game for all three goaltenders, as a total of five goals came from low-danger shots. Good on the Canucks for scoring seven, but they can't have a defensive and goaltending performance similar to this if they want to be considered a Stanley Cup contender.
Heatmap by Natural Stat Trick, VAN vs MIN, Feb 19, 2024Lastly, the Pius Suter, J.T. Miller, and Brock Boeser line stepped up for Vancouver in a big way. While on the ice, the trio outscored Minnesota 4-1 and had an xGF% of 62.10. The Canucks second line also held a 7-5 scoring chances advantage and limited the Wild to one high-danger chance. They have really stepped up as of late, with all three having multi-point efforts against Minnesota.
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