Canucks numbers: The one NHL crew that hasn't misplaced three in a row

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For all of the momentary stumbles, for the occasions that the coaches and gamers have expressed frustration about one misstep or one other, there may be simply no getting across the actuality that the Vancouver Canucks have been extremely constant this season.

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This fact is finest summed up by the quantity three — as in, the Canucks haven’t misplaced three video games in a row this season.

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The final time the Canucks misplaced two in a row was two months in the past, after they dropped a 5-2 rating to the Calgary Flames after which two days later struggled at residence in opposition to the Seattle Kraken, dropping 4-3.

With the Florida Panthers dropping their third sport in a row on Wednesday, the Canucks now stand alone. Till their loss Wednesday at residence to the Detroit Pink Wings, the Cats have been in the identical membership because the Canucks.

Like Winnipeg’s spectacular 33-game streak of giving up solely three objectives or fewer, having the ability to discover your ft after a pair losses is an indication a crew actually is doing the suitable issues.

Sure, the Canucks have discovered some scoring luck alongside the way in which, however they’ve so hardly ever misplaced due to how they’re enjoying on the defensive finish.

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Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet pointed Thursday morning to the character of not simply his management group however of all his gamers.

“All of it begins in apply the subsequent day. Typically once you lose, the subsequent day guys are moping round or no matter. There’s no moping round. You recognize my mantra is earn your day. It appears as if we come the subsequent day, ‘Let’s a have apply: Earn your day,” Tocchet remarked.

“I believe that helps, as a substitute of using the curler coaster, we’re even-keeled.”

The gamers themselves are pushing the message of shifting ahead, of sticking to the “staples” that Tocchet needs from their sport, of working onerous within the defensive zone, being able to transition to assault after they acquire possession of the puck, of pushing onerous by way of the impartial zone, not speeding to shoot within the offensive zone, discovering methods to hyperlink passes collectively, driving onerous to the online to create chaos for the opposite crew’s defence and their goalie, of attacking the opposite crew’s puck service so that they don’t have any area to manoeuvre, and to forecheck onerous alongside the boards, slicing off exit factors for the opposition.

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“They’re preaching it too. Half the time I don’t even need to say it. They’re saying it themselves,” Tocchet mentioned.

Conor Garland mentioned the crew’s capacity to reset itself, lead by the management group, even reveals up in-game, not to mention sport to sport. He didn’t understand the Canucks hadn’t misplaced two in a row in two months, he admitted.

“You see our response from interval to interval. It reveals we’re targeted. We perceive once we’re enjoying nicely and easy methods to preserve it, and once we’re not, easy methods to get going,” he mentioned.

8.5

The Canucks’ rolling 10-game shot attempts-for common has surged since simply earlier than Christmas, an indication of how a lot better they’re controlling the puck. It’s no marvel they’re profitable greater than they’re dropping.

Your eyes have most likely instructed you that that is occurring — the numbers agree.

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Over their previous 10 video games, the Canucks have taken 53.2 per cent of the shot makes an attempt, in keeping with MoneyPuck.com.

That’s a really good upward pattern. On the whole, groups that take extra pictures than their opponents are inclined to win extra.

Now, this fact has shifted considerably over the previous few seasons, as all groups have come to grasp that pictures taken from the center of the ice, close to the online, have a a lot better likelihood of scoring, and that if you may get the goalie to maneuver earlier than the shot and even trigger bother for his sight, you additional enhance the chances of that shot stepping into.

However that additionally signifies that shot makes an attempt for and in opposition to are in some ways much more related that ever, since groups perceive the worth of pictures so a lot better than they used to.

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91.9

One other massive purpose for the Canucks consistency has been the excellent play of beginning goalie Thatcher Demko and his backup Casey DeSmith.

Demko’s save proportion to date this season is 91.9 per cent, which might be a profession excessive.

His profession excessive is 91.5, which he recorded two seasons in a row — through the Canucks’ in any other case horrible 2020-21 marketing campaign, after which the subsequent season, when he practically drove the Canucks to the playoffs below Bruce Boudreau.

3.9

Vasily Podkolzin has been quietly punching his manner by way of his time within the AHL.

He’s averaging practically 4 pictures on objective per sport.

Regardless of the future is for the younger Russian winger — may he play an element as a depth winger for the Canucks down the stretch, or maybe be a commerce chip? — he does appear to have righted his sport this 12 months with the Abbotsford Canucks.

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He has 10 objectives and 10 assists in 28 video games with Abbotsford this season.

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