That’s another nail in the coffin.
The Vancouver Canucks battled but lost out 3-1 to the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday afternoon. They played their hearts out against a good team, fighting in spite of the injuries to the lineup and being on the tail end of the road trip. Unfortunately, it looked like the team simply ran out of gas, as the Jets separated themselves in the third period. The Canucks’ playoff hopes are dimming fast, and this result simply adds to the fading light.
Here’s the loss, by the numbers.
As always, you can find our glossary guide of advanced stats here.
Game Flow
Via The Nation Network
For much of this game, the flow hung in the balance. Both teams hovered around 50.00 CF% in the first and second periods, with the Jets having a slim but decent edge in xGF% during that same span, posting 55-56 xGF%. But, the raw numbers weren’t at all horrific – Winnipeg only totaled 1.21 xGF in the first and second combined while Vancouver put up 0.96. Unfortunately, the wheels fell off in the third, with the Jets totaling 1.18 xGF in the final frame alone to push themselves past the Canucks. They turned it up a notch for the win, and Vancouver simply couldn’t keep up.
Heat Map
Via The Nation Network
The heat map looks a little unfavorable for Vancouver. At 5v5, Winnipeg held slim leads in scoring chances (20-19) and HDCF (9-8), but the important note was when they struck. The Canucks were doing well, managing to generate a 4-3 lead in the first period. The Jets only had a single HDCF in the second period, which is pretty good if you’re Vancouver. However, that’s where the Jets stepped up, as Winnipeg went on to finish the third with a 5-4 HDCF lead. Again, Vancouver did decent to create 4 high-danger chances, but it was clear that Winnipeg had the momentum on their side and struck twice to put this game away.
Individual Advanced Stats
Corsi Champ: Linus Karlsson led the Canucks with a 66.67 CF% against the Jets, simply shuffled around against whatever Winnipeg had out at any given time. The Swede didn’t play much hockey at all for whatever reason, finishing with the second-lowest TOI amongst all skaters at 5v5, and while the share metrics are good, the sample size was a little too small to say if they had much of an impact.
Corsi Chump: After two solid games, Derek Forbort got a little cooked against the Jets. Finishing with a team-worst 37.50 CF%, the defenceman also was on ice for 2 goals against while posting the worst xGF% with a 21.24. Interestingly enough, Forbort was on ice for a 2-1 high-danger chance advantage, despite the negative xGF% and 5-7 scoring chance deficit. Regardless, he didn’t have as great of a game as in previous outings, and with the Jets finding their groove in the third, Forbort was unfortunately the one to bear the brunt of that.
xGF: Here’s the frustrating part. Karlsson led the Canucks with a 71.74 xGF% while being on ice for the 6th-best xGF on the team (0.52). This was, again, coming with the second-lowest ice time of any Canuck at even-strength play. Given how the team only scored once, it didn’t really make sense to be playing Karlsson with such limited minutes, and by proxy Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Nils Aman, both of whom were also up there in the xGF% department. Karlsson was on ice for a 4-1 lead in scoring chances and 2-1 edge in high-danger chances. Again, perhaps the defensive side isn’t up to snuff for Tocchet’s liking, but considering that Karlsson and his line didn’t get a single start in the offensive zone, it wasn’t as if they were being put into a position to succeed. Quinn Hughes once more led the Canucks with a 1.15 xGF to his name, doing everything he can to carry this team on his back.
GSAx: Thatcher Demko once more kept his end of the bargain, doing what he could to keep the Canucks in this game. The Jets racked up 3.89 xGF on the game across all situations, meaning that the netminder finished with a 0.89 GSAx to his name. That’s a really solid contribution, one that would’ve been better had Vancouver made more of their chances count when they got them. The goals that Demko gave up were split evenly between the three chance areas, which is fine if not completely ideal. Nothing about this loss could be pinned on the man between the pipes.
Statistical Musings
Where the first line underwhelmed again: Yes, Pius Suter found the back of the net for the opening goal. Fantastic. However, for the rest of the game, he and especially his wingers in Jake DeBrusk and Brock Boeser were pretty darn quiet. Posting the worst CF% amongst all forward units, the trio also faced the most xGA at 1.08. They did generate the most xGF on the team with 0.64 to offset that slightly, but at the end of the day, DeBrusk and Boeser were not at their best in this game. They might not be play drivers in terms of offence, but they’re also probably the two “most talented” forwards left in this lineup. they should be expected to step up, and unfortunately for Vancouver, they didn’t.
Draw Specialist: Aatu Räty saw plenty of usage in the faceoff dot against the Jets. It’s impressive that the 22-year-old Finn has the wilyness and skill that he has to win draws, and it’s something that Tocchet made the most of. Räty started a mere 16.67% of his faceoffs in the offensive zone, taking 10 draws in his own end. Out of a total of 16, he won 11, meaning that he finished with a 68.75% win percentage. Again, pretty darn good results, and being trusted to come up with the puck on a defensive faceoff at his age is no easy feat.
As a team
CF% – 48.57% HDCF% – 37.50% xGF% – 36.16%
This game showed that the Canucks simply didn’t have that extra gear for them to keep up with a team like the Jets. They battled hard and credit should be given for the effort that they turned in. However, once the pace picked up, Winnipeg’s talent shone through and made the difference for them. Vancouver just didn’t have that edge to get into the lead, nor did they have enough left to try and even things up. That’s how it goes sometimes, and perhaps it is a point to build off of for a longer offseason than most anticipated.
Vancouver finally returns home, getting a bit of a break in their schedule before hosting the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday.
Stats provided by naturalstattrick.com
This article first appeared on Canucksarmy and was syndicated with permission.
