League leaders, potent power play and saves. Lots and lots of saves.
The Vancouver Canucks are five games into their new National Hockey League season and already a number of team and individual performances have jumped off the page. Here are five highlights from the team's first five outings:
1) Following Saturday's 5-3 win in Florida, Elias Pettersson had a share of the NHL scoring lead (he's since been passed by Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Larkin). Pettersson's eight assists are tied with Larkin for tops in the NHL. He has had multiple points in four of his five games so far and an argument can be made that he hasn't been at his most dynamic in any of the contests. Certainly, there will be nights where he is hands down the best player on the ice. But it's a compliment to his significant skill that he can rack up points the way he does with something other than his A-game. Look out league when Pettersson truly hits his stride.
2) Meanwhile, Brock Boeser scored again on Saturday giving him goals in back to back games to go along with his four-goal opening night. With six goals, for a night at least he was tied with Auston Matthews, Sam Reinhart and Nikita Kucherov for the league lead (since taken by DeBrincat with eight). And Boeser trails only DeBrincat with five even-strength goals so far. Not bad for a guy that went his first 11 games without finding the back of the net a season ago.
3) The Canucks power play is clicking at 37.5%. It won't stay at that rate, but it's certainly an encouraging start for the group and should provide confidence that the power play can be a difference maker. The Canucks have converted on six of 16 opportunities so far with goals from six different skaters (Pettersson, Boeser, JT Miller, Andrei Kuzmenko, Quinn Hughes and Carson Soucy). The first unit has been dynamic with plenty of movement among the skaters keeping defenders on their heels in almost every game so far.
4) The goaltending duo of Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith is rocking an even-strength save percentage of .947. Individually, Demko has stopped 93 of the 100 shots he's faced in all situations so far this season. He's carrying a .930 save percentage. And DeSmith been a valuable insurance policy winning his first two starts in Canuck colours with a .938 save rate. The Canucks are leaning a little too heavily on their netminders and will need to find ways to lighten the load on their goalies in games. But the early indications are the Canucks have a tandem that is ready to hold up its end of the bargain.
5) The defensive pairing of Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek is legit. In 71:48 minutes at even-strength with those two on the ice together, the Canucks have controlled 55.1% of all shot attempts, 52% of expected goals -- and have outscored opponents 4-0. That pair is playing a lot and usually against top competition and more often than not tilting the ice in the Canucks favour. By playing Hughes and Hronek together, the Canucks have created one of the top duos in the league in the early stages of the season. The only downside is that by stacking their top pairing, the Canucks are still searching for ways to patch holes lower on the depth chart. With one of Hughes or Hronek on the ice, the Canucks have outscored opponents 11-3.
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