Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Vancouver Canucks kick off road trip as NHL's best penalty-killing team

October 17, 2019, 1:03 PM ET [274 Comments]
Carol Schram
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Thursday October 17 - Vancouver Canucks at St. Louis Blues - 5 p.m. - Sportsnet One, Sportsnet 650

Vancouver Canucks: 5 GP, 3-2-0, 6 pts, fifth in Pacific Division
St. Louis Blues: 6 GP, 3-1-2, 8 pts, third in Central Division

For the first time since February 9, the Vancouver Canucks are boasting a record that's better than .500 as they kick off their four-game road trip in St. Louis on Thursday.

The Canucks hit their high-water mark last year on November 8, when they moved to 10-6-1 after their road win in Boston capped off an impressive 4-0-1 stretch. Then, they had that late-game collapse in Buffalo that led to a shootout loss, which started a slide that turned into a 1-10-1 record over their 12 subsequent games.

Part of the process of digging out of that hole was their 6-1 win over the still-moribund Blues on December 9 — Elias Pettersson's second career five-point game. Craig Berube had taken over for Mike Yeo a couple of weeks earlier, but the team's turnaround didn't take hold until Jordan Binnington arrived on the scene in January.

When the Canucks returned to Enterprise Center for their last game of the 2018-19 season last April, Binnington was in net against Thatcher Demko — the same matchup we're expecting to see tonight. Pettersson scored late to force overtime, but the Canucks ultimately fell 3-2 in a shootout to the soon-to-be Stanley Cup champs.

So far this season, the Blues have done a reasonably good job of managing their potential Stanley Cup hangover — and dealing with the fact that nobody is underestimating them anymore. They have recorded just one regulation loss so far this year — Binnington was in net for the 6-3 road loss to Montreal last Saturday. The Blues are sitting around the middle of the pack in most statistical categories — except shots per game (28.5, 25th in the league) and penalty killing (91.7 percent, tied for third).

That could make it tough for the Canucks to generate offense with the man advantage after finally getting their power play clicking against Detroit on Tuesday. But the Blues will be facing a similar challenge. With their 15-for-16 record while shorthanded, the Canucks' penalty kill currently sits in the top spot in the entire NHL, with a 93.8 percent success rate.

When I think of the penalty kill, I think of Jay Beagle, but he has actually only been the second-busiest forward so far this season, with 10:36 of shorthanded ice time. The leader, by far, is Brandon Sutter, at 18:32, while Chris Tanev and Alex Edler have been taking the lion's share of the defensive responsibility.

With Loui Eriksson out of the mix as he continues to collect healthy scratches, the other forwards who have been helping out are Tanner Pearson (9:49) and Tim Schaller (9:22).

Sutter, of course, also has four points in the Canucks' five games so far this year. Finally enjoying a nice bounce-back year, he's already two-thirds of the way to matching last year's total output — six points in 26 games.

I laughed when I saw this picture on Wednesday. When you're 6'8", even a charter flight presents legroom challenges!

View this post on Instagram

Not photoshopped. Just very tall.

A post shared by Vancouver Canucks (@canucks) on



After all the derisive shouting we heard from the analytics community about Tyler Myers' big free-agent contract when he was signed by the Canucks last summer, his performance so far in a Vancouver uniform has come as a pleasant surprise — and it sounds like his numbers are supporting our early impression.

Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic suggests that Myers and Alex Edler are both benefitting from their new defensive pairing, which has led to what he calls "a shockingly high 56 percent Corsi and 54 percent expected goals rate" for Myers.

Luszczyszyn then goes on to suggest that Quinn Hughes might already be Vancouver's best defender, who's "playing pretty big minutes and crushing them to the tune of a 60 percent Corsi, 63 percent expected goals share and 70 percent actual goals share." He adds his voice to the chorus that's looking for a bigger power-play role for Hughes, who turned 20 on Monday and who will play his first NHL game against his brother Jack this Saturday in New Jersey.

Rookie mistake for Quinn, as pointed out by Brandon Sutter — not bringing comfy clothes to change into on the plane.



This year's Air Canucks video offers some interesting insight into personalities and player bonds through the team. Makes sense that Jay Beagle is part of the Mario Kart gang, given that was famously the game of choice for the Washington Capitals on their way to their 2018 Stanley Cup, but I'm surprised to hear that captain Bo Horvat is part of the Mario Kart crew. We also get some nice, dry Swedish humour from often-quiet Alex Edler.

Don't expect any roster changes for Thursday's game. CapFriendly is currently showing 24 players on the Canucks' roster, but that's because Zane McIntyre has been recalled on an emergency basis. Teams are allowed an extra player in that situation. Jacob Markstrom remains on the roster while he's away on his personal leave, and Oscar Fantenberg has been moved to injured reserve.

Nice to see this from Thursday's morning skate:



After skating with Bo Horvat and Tanner Pearson against the Red Wings on Tuesday, looks like Micheal Ferland is back on third-line detail. Good to see him putting in some extra work to try to find his groove.



As for the Blues, here's how they skated on Thursday.



Robert Thomas is expected to be back in the lineup for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury on opening night.

I've rambled on enough already today, so I'll finish with a quick shout-out for Mikey DiPietro, who picked up his first pro win as the Utica Comets beat the Syracuse Crunch 6-2 in their home opener on Wednesday.



DiPietro had a relatively easy night as the Comets outshot the Crunch 38-18, but was still named the game's first star.

Six different players scored for the Comets — Jonah Gadjovich, Dylan Blujus, Francis Perron, Reid Boucher, Zack MacEwen and Vincent Arseneau.

Gadjovich left Wednesday's game with an injury but at this point, it sounds like it's nothing too serious.



Nikolay Goldobin earned second-star honours on Wednesday with a three-assist night, including this beauty.



Next up for the Comets — a home date with the Charlotte Checkers on Friday.

Enjoy the game!
Join the Discussion: » 274 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Carol Schram
» Winning Canucks send down Podkolzin, Rathbone as homestand begins
» Power-play fuels big win in Vegas as Canucks look to sweep 3-game road trip
» The Canucks' position at U.S. Thanksgiving, following a big win in Denver
» Trade winds blow as the Canucks kick off road trip against the Avalanche
» Podkolzin returns as Canucks host Vegas amidst Horvat, Myers trade rumours