Canucks by the numbers: Quinn Hughes is driving the defence

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Everybody knew that getting robust play from their goaltenders can be important to the Vancouver Canucks having any type of success in 2023-24.

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The Canucks gave up the eighth-most objectives towards final season, one among many causes they had been on the skin wanting in when the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs began.

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Irrespective of how good your offence is, in case you’re bleeding objectives towards you’re nowhere.

Which brings us to this week’s have a look at the numbers driving the Canucks’ 2023-24 season. There’s loads of buzz in regards to the Canucks’ offence, with Elias Pettersson atop the NHL scoring standings, and Quinn Hughes and J.T. Miller shut behind.

However that scoring can be for naught in the event that they weren’t caring for enterprise defensively.

Let’s dive in!

2nd

Thatcher Demko has been other-worldly in his performances this season. Casey DeSmith has been fairly nice too.

Via 12 video games, the Canucks have given up the second fewest objectives towards this season, simply 24. That’s yet another than the Boston Bruins.

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Scoring is up within the NHL, so there’s simply no method the Canucks are solely going to surrender two objectives per sport going ahead. However even a slight uptick in objectives towards goes to be manageable.

And with Demko’s play, coupled with how effectively the Canucks are defending in entrance of him, there’s each purpose to suppose the Canucks will stay within the high half of the league defensively — at worst.

At finest, they’ll discover themselves within the high third of groups.

And which means so much. Of the 16 groups that made the playoffs final season, just one wasn’t within the high 16 groups in objectives towards final season. The Florida Panthers, who gave up the Eleventh-most objectives towards (272) on the season, had been the outlier, however they scored extra objectives than they gave up.

Being good at defending makes an enormous distinction you probably have playoff ambitions. No large shock there.

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58

Quinn Hughes is proving so dominant offensively, we’re lacking how robust his defensive play has been.

He has the second-lowest shot-attempts-against price, after Andrei Kuzmenko. And that’s serving to to drive his 58 per cent shot-attempts price — which means that 58 per cent of the shot makes an attempt taken whereas he’s on the ice are on the opposition internet, a dominant price.

Via 12 video games, Hughes’s five-on-five shot-attempts towards price is a career-low 0.76 per minute. He’s enjoying the very best defensive hockey of his profession proper now.

And he’s enjoying a ton, 16:47 per sport at five-on-five.

While you’re that dominant, enjoying powerful minutes like Hughes is, that’s large.

4

Via the primary dozen video games of the season, Hughes has tallied 4 three-point video games.

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That’s a staggering complete when put in context.

Right here is the listing of defencemen in NHL historical past who’ve additionally recorded three-point video games in a 3rd of their first dozen video games on the season: Paul Reinhart (with the Canucks in 1989-90), Paul Coffey (Pittsburgh in 1988-89), Chris Chelios (with Montreal in 1987-88), Denis Potvin (twice with the Islanders in 1979-80, 1975-76), and Bobby Orr in 1974-75.

This is perhaps the primary Hughes listing that doesn’t have Brian Leetch on it as a comparator.

It’s elite firm.

5

5 of the Canucks 9 wins earlier than Thursday’s sport in Ottawa had been by three objectives or extra.

The Canucks are capturing the lights out. These wins aren’t going to hold on being so large.

The query going ahead is how their diminished scoring price and their barely elevated objectives towards price converge towards one another.

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Successful one-goal video games is difficult, and that would be the true check of the Canucks within the weeks and months forward.

32.6

The Canucks are buzzing at 32.6 per cent on the ability play.

They’re tied for the league lead with the New Jersey Devils in five-on-four objectives with 15. The Devils even have three five-on-three objectives, plus one four-on-three purpose.

Having an elite energy play is a big distinction maker within the chase for a playoff spot.

The Canucks aren’t going to maintain scoring on 13.3 per cent of their five-on-five photographs, however in current seasons the league’s finest energy performs have been operating as sizzling because the Canucks’ at present is.

The Canucks are definitely going to cease scoring as a lot as they do at 5 on 5, however there’s no purpose to suppose their energy play can’t proceed to be as profitable because it at present is.

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2 or 3

With out getting forward of ourselves — be critical, the Golden Knights are the very best workforce within the division — the Canucks have already got a robust likelihood to complete second or third within the division.

Going into Thursday’s sport, HockeyViz.com projected the Canucks to complete third within the Pacific with 96 factors.

The chances present the Canucks might face the Los Angeles Kings within the playoffs.

That’s what followers ought to begin pondering: How do they really feel in regards to the Canucks’ possibilities in a seven-game match up with the Kings?

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