The Vancouver Canucks have won five of their last six games, but there are still many ways in which the team could improve.
One of those options would be breaking up the Tyler Myers and Jordie Benn duo on defence, which has struggled mightily ever since being paired together late last month. We can take a look at their lacklustre play using Natural Stat Trick, and more specifically, how the Canucks have controlled shot attempts and expected goals percentages with both on the ice.
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So far this season, Myers and Benn have played a total of 112 minutes together at five on five, and have a corsi of 42.72% and an expected goals percentage of 41.15%. If we compare these numbers to those of individual players who have played over 100 minutes at five on five, that corsi percentage would be the worst on the team and the expected goals percentage would come in second last, only better than Jake Virtanen’s number.
In other words, Vancouver is bleeding scoring chances when the two veteran defenders play together, as they’re giving up a vast number of high-quality shots against. Surprisingly, the Canucks have actually outscored opponents four to three with Myers and Benn on the ice, but this is more indicative of Thatcher Demko’s brilliant performance rather than any impressive play from the defensive pair.
I’ve previously suggested re-inserting Olli Juolevi back into the lineup, but it seems like Travis Green is happy with his defensive group at the moment. If so, the team could still tweak the pairings and see if anything sticks. The only duo that should be kept together would be Quinn Hughes and Travis Hamonic, as they’ve been the most consistent pair over the last few weeks.
For example, the Canucks could have Nate Schmidt play on the left side and pair him with Benn, and slot Myers back with Alex Edler like last season. Even if those configurations don’t work, it’s still worth a shot, especially since Schmidt and Edler have struggled recently too.
What do you think, Canucks fans? Should the team break up the Myers and Benn pairing? Let us know in the comments below!