It has been a while since we’ve seen the Vancouver Canucks on home ice, but they are now at the final stop of their first road trip.
The Canucks battle with the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday to wrap up their four-game trip through the east. The club has run off a pair of wins and is now set up to make this a 3-1-0 road trip if they can pick up one final win on the road.
When looking at some of the numbers, Nils Höglander and Quinn Hughes are sticking out with their ability to create scoring chances and limit the opposition’s chances. Höglander and Hughes are the only two Canucks (minimum 30 minutes five-on-five) who have a control of scoring chances above 60% through their first five games.
So, what this means is that when one of these players is on the ice, more than six of the 10 scoring chances that happen on the ice are in favour of the Canucks.
For example, Höglander has played 66:04 at five-on-five this season and he has been on the ice for 33 scoring chances for and only 16 scoring chances against. That gives him a 67.4% control of the scoring chances.
As for Hughes, he’s played 101:31 at five-on-five and been on the ice for 28 scoring chances and 16 against – good enough for a 63.6% control of scoring chances.
These two players are extending possessions and quickly getting the puck out of their end so that they can get closer to creating chances for the Canucks in the offensive zone.
Regarding the opponent, the Blackhawks have a 2-3-1 record and have been at home in Chicago since they began their four-game homestand last Thursday. The Hawks are rested and ready to face the visiting Canucks, who are on the final stop of their long road trip.
Quick Hits on the Competition
- Let’s hit it right off the top, local kid Connor Bedard is over a point per game through six outings and is averaging over 20 minutes of ice time per game. He’s only scored one goal but has picked up six assists. Four of his six assists have come on the power play.
- On the topic of the power play, the Blackhawks have been extremely efficient on the man advantage and rank sixth in the NHL with a 29.4% conversion percentage. They have scored five goals on 17 attempts and Teuvo Teräväinen has two of their four power play goals.
- The Blackhawks are the 30th-ranked team in the faceoff dot this season. They have won 45.9% of their draws through six games. Nick Foligno is their standout in the circle, he has won 34 of his 55 faceoffs; giving him a 61.8% win rate.
- Petr Mrazek started four of the Blackhawks’ first six games and with a couple of days off ahead of Tuesday night’s matchup, he would be the expected starter for the opposition.
- Veteran defender Seth Jones sits in eighth league-wide for ice time per game. Jones is averaging 25:43 so far this season and is paired up with Alex Vlasic on the Hawks’ top pairing.
The Story: System and Structure are the Focus
As the team prepares to close out their road trip, head coach Rick Tocchet is beginning to see some good things from his group in terms of players feeling comfortable in their structure and system.
“We played a little quicker in the neutral zone. I thought we played more of our style and got the puck out of our end quicker. I thought that helped us establish our game early,” said Tocchet.
There was a play in the third period of Saturday’s game that Tocchet brought up about his team finding their game. It was a shift where Kiefer Sherwood and Teddy Blueger had a long shift in the offensive zone that completely shut down the Flyers’ momentum as they tried to push for a comeback.
"That's the stuff we did really well last year,” said Tocchet. “Stopping the momentum of the other team. That's something we're trying to get better at every day.”
Coach Tocchet later went on to say that his team has success when they are layered correctly. He wants to see the players continue to get familiar with each other because that will only help the team find more confidence in their system.
Canucks’ Top Performers over the Last Five
Brock Boeser: 3g-2a-5p
Conor Garland: 2g-2a-4p
Quinn Hughes: 1g-3a-4p
Jake DeBrusk: 0g-4a-4p
Teddy Blueger: 2g-1a-3p
Nils Höglander: 2g-1a-3p
J.T. Miller: 2g-1a-3p
When and Where to Watch
Tuesday night’s game has a bit of a weird start time. The game is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. PT as all 32 NHL teams are in action with games beginning every 15 minutes or so for the return of the NHL’s Frozen Frenzy.
You can watch the Canucks’ game on Sportsnet or listen to the radio broadcast with noted good guy, Brendan Batchelor on the play-by-play call.
