3 areas where the Canucks could still use improvement
Nobody’s perfect, even the Vancouver Canucks.
In fairness though, this is as close as they’ve been to perfection in a long time.
Nearly everything seems to be working for the Canucks right now. They’re tied for first overall in the NHL. They have a seven-point cushion on first place in the Pacific Division. They’re first overall in goals scored and fifth in goals against.
The Canucks have accomplished all of this despite the majority of prognosticators picking them to miss the playoffs prior to the season.
Still, if they truly have aspirations of going on a long playoff run, there are still a couple of things the team can do to improve. Here are the three areas where the Canucks could be better.
1. Canucks need to create more chances
This might seem like an odd statement, considering that the Canucks have scored more goals than any other NHL team.
However, that whole debate about the Canucks being lucky due to their PDO (combined team shooting and save percentage) has some merit.
The Canucks have generated the fifth-fewest shots on goal in the NHL, both on a per-game basis and at even strength.
Vancouver is marginally better in terms of generating both scoring and high-danger chances at even strength, but they’re still in the bottom-half of the league.
However, their shooting percentage at even strength (12.19%) isn’t just best in the NHL, it’s a full percentage point ahead of second place.
The Detroit Red Wings are the only other team in the NHL to shoot more than 10% at even strength, aside from the Canucks (11.12%).
The high-danger shooting percentage gap at evens is even more pronounced. Vancouver has scored on 26.6% of their high-danger shots. Detroit is second at 22.7%. Only eight teams have scored on more than 20% of their high-danger shots and last team, not one team finished with a high-danger shooting percentage over 20%.
Yes, the Canucks have elite talent, and they should be in the upper echelon of the league in terms of offensive efficiency. They also have a number of secondary players having career years as well.
THAT ONE WILL COUNT! šØ
Sam Lafferty buries his tenth of the season to give the Canucks the lead. pic.twitter.com/mTX4Bu7XPb
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 13, 2024
Moving forward, the Canucks would be best served trying to create their own luck by creating more chances.
2. Controlling play when the game is tied
This is another one of those areas where, on the surface, it seems like the Canucks have done a good job.
They have 56 first-period goals, which leads the NHL. They’ve also scored 53 goals while allowing 32 against at any point when they game has been tied.
However, as covered above, that’s largely due to gaudy shooting percentages.
The Canucks are a bottom-10 team in terms of puck possession and scoring-chance generation when the game is tied.
We’ve seen a couple examples of that in recent games. However, one of the most notable ones was back on December 7 against the Minnesota Wild. That first period was arguably one of the Canucks’ worst of the season. They were outshot and outplayed heavily but managed to escape with a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes.
Vancouver is a top-10 team in terms of controlling possession when they’re either leading or tied, but they lack a consistent effort during a tie game.
3. Limiting chances on the penalty kill
On the surface, Vancouver’s penalty kill is on the rise.
Since December 1, the Canucks have the ninth-best penalty kill in the NHL at 82.5%, and sit 20th overall on the season (78.8%).
That’s a far cry from last year, where they nearly set an NHL record for futility when down a man.
While the Canucks have been somewhat better structurally, there’s still room for improvement.
Even during the team’s latest stretch where they’ve had a top-10 penalty kill, most of the credit belongs to Canucks’ goaltenders.
Since December 1, the Canucks have allowed the 11th-most high danger chances against (25.1 per 60) at four-on-five, but the Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith’s combined save percentage (.905) is seventh-best during that span.
Putting it away on the power play. #NHLAllStarVoteĀ Vincent Trocheck pic.twitter.com/kCOKxeZwm9
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 9, 2024
From the beginning of the season to November 30, the Canucks allowed slightly more chances against shorthanded (25.8 per 60, 25th in the NHL) but their goaltender’s save percentage was a few percentage points worse (.875, 16th in the NHL).
In fairness, the Canucks have improved their penalty kill after switching up some of their main personnel. Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller were the Canucks top-two penalty killers in terms of ice time prior to November 30. During that span, the Canucks allowed the second-most shots against shorthanded.
Since then, five other forwards have more shorthanded ice time per game than Pettersson and Miller, with Teddy Blueger and Dakota Joshua leading the way. The Canucks rank 19th in shots against during that span.
Still, getting even more comfortable in their structure and continue to make their goaltenders’ lives easier while shorthanded would be beneficial, especially since opponent’s power plays come playoff time tend to be more lethal.
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