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 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks/news/canucks-cant-contain-eichel-in-4-1-loss-to-golden-knights] While Vegas was the better team, the even-strength analytics were very surprising. Despite the Golden Knights having a 40-19 shot advantage, the two teams were tied with 24 scoring chances each, while the Canucks had a 12-9 advantage when it came to high-danger scoring chances. Based on the eye test, these analytics may look wrong, but there is a very simple explanation: shot location. The heat map of offensive zone unblocked shots explains why the analytics favoured Vancouver. While the Golden Knights did score all three of their even-strength goal from within 20 feet of the net, most of the shots Thatcher Demko faced came from between the blue line and the faceoff dots, with an average distance of 49.68 feet. As for the Canucks, they finished with an average distance of 38.46 feet versus Adin Hill and 22.50 feet versus Logan Thompson. A positive way of looking at this is while Vancouver couldn't generate a ton of shots, at least they were getting to the dirty areas and trying to make life difficult for Vegas' goaltenders. While Demko was good once again, the real stars for Vancouver against the Golden Knights were their third line of Dakota Joshua, Teddy Bleuger and Conor Garland. During their 9:40 of ice time together, the Canucks held a 10-4 advantage in scoring chances and a 5-2 advantage in high-danger scoring chances. The only problem is that, once again, they couldn't convert those chances into goals. While the process is there for this trio, they need to start capitalizing on their opportunities if this team wants to move into the contender status. Nikita Zadorov Trade Lastly, let's take a look at Andrei Kuzmenko, who scored the only Canuck goal. Starting with the positives, he was tied for the team lead in shots as well as individual high-danger scoring chances, recording three of each and ended the game with seven scoring chances created. Conversely, Vancouver was outshot 14-7 in just 15:48 of even-strength ice time. While there are some issues that need to be fixed in his game, especially on the defensive side, it is good to see that he is starting to find his form in the offensive zone and contributing to the scoresheet. Make sure to check back Sunday after the game against the Calgary Flames for another edition of "The Stats Behind The Game."
