Most complete defensive effort of the season
Thatcher Demko will get a lot of praise for his play last night, and rightfully so. However, we shouldn’t discount the impressive defensive showing that the team displayed in front of him.
According to Natural Stat Trick, Vancouver only allowed five high danger scoring chances against (HDCA) at five on five in the entire game while conceding 1.9 expected goals against (xGA). To put that in perspective, the Canucks had given up the highest xGA total and most HDSC against before last night in the entire league — albeit with the most games played as well — since they averaged over two xGA while giving up almost 10 HDCA per game at five on five.
Interestingly, the offence suffered as a result of their defensive prowess. Don’t be fooled by the score; all three first-period goals came off of tip-ins and deflections, while the last one was an empty netter from Elias Pettersson. The numbers back up Vancouver’s offensive struggles too, since the Canucks actually ended the game with fewer expected goals (1.15) than the Jets at five on five.
It’s nice to see the Canucks play such sound defence, but they’ll need to figure out how to balance that with a decent offensive attack as well.
Other notes
- I would be remiss not to mention that last night’s victory marked the first shutout of the season for the Canucks and also the first of Demko’s career. It took a while for Vancouver to get to this point but it’s better late than never, right? Also, it’s safe to say that the net is now Demko’s to lose, who has made three consecutive starts now.
- Gaudette had two assists on the night, his first multi-point game of the season. After breaking out offensively last year, he’s largely struggled to produce so far in 2020-21. Fortunately, many advanced metrics show that he’s been snakebitten and has played better than his numbers show, so let’s hope this is the start of a turnaround for Gaudette.
- Virtanen had another strong game last night. Trade rumours have swirled around him all season long, but his play has strangely improved in midst of the increasing trade talk surrounding him. Perhaps fans should keep proposing deals involving Virtanen to keep him motivated. I kid, of course. Or am I?
The Canucks will face off against Winnipeg once against tomorrow at 5 PM Pacific Time to finish off this mini-series. Let’s hope they keep up the momentum and make it two wins in a row!