It's been an extremely intriguing season so far for the Vancouver Canucks and their fan base. What other team can say they've dealt with adversity which includes bereavement, a cancer diagnosis, a first-of-its kind hockey injury, and a team captain having to take an indefinite leave of absence for personal reasons?
One of the best ways to summarise how a season is going, is by looking at the statistical side of things. With this in mind, here are 20 numbers which help tell the story of the Canucks' 2024-25 campaign through the first 20 games.
N.B. All statistics up to and including Nov. 26.
Sharing the spotlight
6 - In the ultimate tip of the cap to teamwork, seven players are tied for the lead in goals, with six. The seven players in question includes Brock Boeser who has missed seven games, which alludes to him being capable of another 40-goal season.
3.15 - The Canucks are not yet firing on all cylinders, as evidenced by their 3.15 goals-per-game average ranking 14th in the NHL. For some context, last season they ranked sixth with a 3.40 goals-per-game average.
27.0 - There must be some concern that the Canucks are a lowly tied-27th with 27.0 shots on goal per game. At the same time they only ranked 26th last season with an average of 28.4 shots per context, but regardless, they need to start being more clinical with their finishing.
21.3 - At least the Canucks aren't doing too badly on the power play, with their 21.3 percent efficiency ranking 11th-best in the NHL. Their success rate is similar to last season, when they finished the campaign tied-10th best with a 22.7 percent efficiency.
9 - Daniel Sprong took a gamble on himself by agreeing an extremely team-friendly deal, but only lasted 9 games before he was traded to the Seattle Kraken. He scored a goal on his Canucks debut, but quickly fell out of favour and was even a healthy scratch on a few occasions.
A leader in many ways
16 - Quinn Hughes has been the Canucks' best player so far in 2024-25, which includes leading the way with 16 assists (as well as leading the team with 20 overall points). He is undoubtedly the team's leader and he is in with an excellent chance of winning a second consecutive Norris Trophy.
+12 - Hughes is joined by Filip Hronek, to form one of the very best pairings in the NHL. Hronek leads the Canucks with a +12 rating and is well on the way to beating his career-high +33 rating from just last season.
-5 - On the flip side, Tyler Myers and Noah Juulsen are tied for the worst rating on the team, at -5. Myers is more of a concern given he is a regular on the second pairing, with him so far not being as effective as he was last season.
37 - One thing you can say for Myers is that he remains committed to the cause, as evidenced by leading the team with 37 blocks. Last season he finished second on the Canucks, with 136 blocks.
19 - Going back to Hughes, he also leads the Canucks with 19 penalty minutes. This is already halfway to his career-high 38 penalty minutes from last season, helped by the first five-minute major and game misconduct of his NHL career on Saturday night in Ottawa.
Goalie position needs to improve
.896 - Even allowing for the heroics of Kevin Lankinen, the team goalie save percentage of .896 is tied for only 19th-best in the NHL. Thatcher Demko's return is apparently imminent, and he would certainly help improve the overall save percentage for the Canucks.
3.05 - Still in the same area, the Canucks are ranked 16th in the NHL in allowing an average of 3.05 goals per-game. Last season they were ranked sixth-best, with an average of 2.70 goals allowed per-game.
79.7 - Not great but not terrible either, is the Canucks ranking 13th-best in the NHL with a 79.7 percent effectiveness on the penalty kill. Last season they ranked 17th-best in the NHL, with a similar effectiveness of 79.1 percent.
28.0 - One thing the Canucks are doing quite well defensively, is limiting the number of shots on goal by opponents. They are tied-ninth with the Kraken, with both teams allowing an average of 28.0 shots on goal per-game.
25 - Through 20 games the Canucks have compiled a 11-6-3 record, which is good enough for 25 points and sixth place in the Western Conference standings. Considering they are still not playing to their full capabilities, it must be refreshing for fans that they are only two points worse-off than at the same stage last season.
+1 - At the same time, the Canucks need to improve greatly on their current goal difference of just +1. Last season they finished with a +56 goal difference, which was fourth-best in the Western Conference and sixth-best in the NHL as a whole.
A record-breaking run
8 - This is how many games the Canucks have won in a row on the road, after opening their away schedule with a 4-1 loss in Tampa Bay against the Lightening. Their 8-1-0 away record is also the best start in franchise history on the road.
133 - Kiefer Sherwood has been a ridiculously effective hit machine so far, with his 133 hits way ahead of Jake DeBrusk's 35 hits in second place. He is well on the road to smashing the all-time hits record of 386, which was set just last season.
.645 - Rick Tocchet's .645 winning percentage as Cancucks coach is the best in franchise history to date. Alain Vigneault, who holds the all-time team wins record of 313, is second with a .632 winning percentage.
11 - Finally, Canucks fans everywhere will be delighted to see Elias Pettersson finally rediscovering his form after a slump which went all the way back to the halfway-point of last season. After starting this campaign with only one goal and four overall points in his first 10 games, he now has 11 points in his past 10 contests.