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

Beagle's back as the Vancouver Canucks kick off their road trip in Dallas

November 19, 2019, 2:48 PM ET [294 Comments]
Carol Schram
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Tuesday November 19 - Vancouver Canucks at Dallas Stars - 5:30 p.m. - Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet 650

Vancouver Canucks: 21 GP, 10-7-4, 24 pts, third in Pacific Division
Dallas Stars: 21 GP, 11-8-2, 24 pts, fourth in Central Division

And so it begins.

The Vancouver Canucks will have Jay Beagle back in their lineup as they kick off their six-game road trip with a return matchup against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday at American Airlines Center.

After missing the last three games with an undisclosed injury, Beagle proclaimed himself fit for action after Tuesday's well-attended optional morning skate.



Antoine Roussel is also with the team, and skated for the first time in a full-contact jersey at practice on Monday. Travis Green also informed the media on Monday that Brandon Sutter is expected to rejoin the team at some point during the two-week road trip, so they're getting closer to having a full complement of bodies available.

Here's how the lines ran at Monday's skate:



Jacob Markstrom gets the nod in net after a night off against Colorado on Saturday. Even after logging the first regulation loss of his career against Dallas at Rogers Arena last week, his numbers against the Stars are still spectacular β€”Β 4-1-1 in seven appearances with a .943 save percentage and 1.84 goals-against average.

Dallas is also getting healthier. Roman Polak returned to action last week in Vancouver, and Mattias Janmark was back with the team on Tuesday after missing the last three games with a lower-body injury, but didn't take part in line rushes. He's expected to be scratched against the Canucks.



The Stars will go with Ben Bishop in net, which is interesting. It was Anton Khudobin who got the win in Vancouver last week with Dallas on a back-to-back. Bishop got the start two nights later in Edmonton, but got the hook at the 3:34 mark of the second period when he gave up his third goal of the game on the 15th Edmonton shot.

At that point, the score was 3-2 Oilers. Near the end of the second, Khudobin allowed a power-play goal that stretched Edmonton's lead to 4-2 before the confident Stars started their comeback. Blake Comeau and Tyler Seguin scored in the third to tie the game and force overtime, where Jamie Benn tallied the winner at 1:14.

Dallas has now gone eight games since its last regulation loss, and has climbed all the way into the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

As has been well documented, while the Stars have been surging, the Canucks have been slumping. Their furious push to earn a single point on Saturday against Colorado was a positive, and might be something to build off. But since November 1, the same team that was on fire offensively in October is now tied for 17th overall with 22 goals scored and tied for 27th with 29 goals against. Dallas is first in goals against in November, by the way, with just 13, and 12th in goals for with 24.

The Canucks continue to generate plenty of power-play chances, and to convert. They've had 34 opportunities in nine games β€” third in the league β€” and have scored eight times for a success rate of 23.5 percent. That's seventh overall and compares to 13-for-51 for 25.5 percent in October, which was fifth overall. I think it's also a positive that five of the eight goals in November came in the last week, and that the second unit showed signs of life against Colorado thanks to Adam Gaudette.

With six goals against while shorthanded in the last six games, the penalty kill has taken a hit. In November, they're tied for 18th overall with a success rate of 79.3 percent. Overall, they're now tied for ninth at 83.6 percent.

Both goalies have also regressed a bit in November β€” understandable, considering what Jacob Markstrom is going through as he deals with his father's passing. Markstrom's 0-3-2 this month but his underlying numbers are still above league average at a .912 save percentage and 2.60 goals-against average. Thatcher Demko has actually dipped a bit further. He has delivered five of eight possible points with a 2-1-1 record but his save percentage in November has slipped to .892 and his goals against to 3.30.

Still, Markstrom has earned "quality starts" in nine of his 13 games so far this year according to Hockey Reference. That gives him a .694 quality start percentage, where anything over .600 is considered good.

Demko is at 7-for-8 in that category so far, for a very impressive .875.

And this is all happening at a time when goaltending numbers, in general, are trending downward. One quarter of the way through the 2019-20 season, Hockey Reference's league averages show that the average save percentage has dropped to .908 so far this season, and the average goals-against average is up to 2.88.

That's a continuation of a trend that's been happening since 2015, when the average save percentage was .915 and the average GAA was 2.51. That's also around the time they started shrinking goalie equipment, isn't it?

Shots per game have increased a bit since 2015 but have stayed basically the same for the last couple of years: 31.8 in 2017-18, 31.3 last season and 31.4 this year.

All told, that adds up to more scoring around the league β€”Β from both the stars and the supporting cast.

On Tuesday morning, the NHL released a snapshot of numbers that highlight some of these trends. Not only are Leon Draisaitl, John Carlson and Cale Makar producing at rates we haven't seen in decades in their respective categories, I thought it was fascinating that 72 percent of players who have suited up for an NHL game this year have scored at least one goal.

Check out the rest of the data in my story for Forbes:



The Canucks factor into one key trend that's highlighted. Sitting 11th in league scoring with 25 points, Elias Pettersson is one of 16 players in the top 20 who's under the age of 30.

As for scoring depth β€” well, Vancouver's underperforming slightly in that category. Twenty-three different skaters have suited up so far this year, and seven of them are without goals β€” forwards Sven Baertschi, Loui Eriksson, Tyler Motte and Tyler Graovac and defensemen Tyler Myers, Jordie Benn and Ashton Sautner.

The Tylers are cursed! Who will be the first to light the lamp for Vancouver this year?

I'll leave you with this tasty nugget to wrap things up today. I can't even imagine the core strength it would take to pull this off.



Enjoy the game!
Join the Discussion: Β» 294 Comments Β» 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