All five of Hughes’ goals have come at five-on-five this season and he ranks second in the NHL for five-on-five goals from a defenceman.
At forward, Elias Pettersson has been the top scorer over the Canucks’ last nine games. Pettersson has scored five goals and added seven assists for 12 points and has multi-point performances in five of his last nine games.
One final interesting stat to note before diving into the competition comes from Kiefer Sherwood. The 29-year-old forward’s physical play has been documented ad nauseam this season, leading the NHL with 137 hits.
Another impressive stat has been his control of the goal share at five-on-five. Sherwood has played 247 minutes at five-on-five and has been on the ice for 17 goals scored and only eight goals against.
Now, let’s get to the Sabres, who will be wearing their alternate jerseys on Friday.
Quick Hits on the Competition
- The Sabres sit fifth in the Atlantic division with an 11-10-1 record.
- They rank ninth in the league for shot attempts with 61.7 shot attempts per 60 minutes played at five-on-five.
- Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power have both provided offence from the blue line this season. Dahlin, the 24-year-old defenceman leads with 19 points (6g-13a). Power has three goals and 12 assists for 15 points in 22 games played.
- Tage Thompson leads the team with 11 goals on the year. 10 of his goals have come at even-strength and the 6’6” forward has an impressive 68.2% control of the goal share at five-on-five this season – being on the ice for 15 goals for and seven against.
- Thompson centres the top line with JJ Peterka and Alex Touch flanking him on the wings.
- On defence, Dahlin is joined by Bowen Byram on the top pairing while Power has Henri Jokiharju as his partner to round out the top-four.
The Story: Starting Stronger
Through 21 games, the Canucks have scored the first goal of the game in nine outings. It’s an area that the club wants to improve on and know that they will be in a better position for their structure and system if they can play with an early lead.
This season, the Canucks are 5-0-0 on the road when they score first and were 38-11-4 last season when lighting up the scoreboard with the first goal of the game.
“I like the battle back from us, but we can’t come up with an effort like that to start and expect to win a game,” said Elias Pettersson following Wednesday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. “We’ve got to be better and especially start on time.
With Friday’s game being a strange start time, the Canucks will have to come ready to play as they face a Sabres team who has been a good first-period team this season. They scored first in 12 of their 22 games and have outscored their opponents 19-17 in the opening frame this season.
Canucks’ Top Performers over the Last Five Games
Elias Pettersson: 2g-5a-7p
Conor Garland: 2g-4a-6p
Quinn Hughes: 2g-4a-6p
Kiefer Sherwood: 3g-1a-4p
Jake DeBrusk: 3g-1a-4p
When and Where to Watch
Friday’s game is a noon PT start, and you can watch it on Sportsnet or maybe sneak in a headphone at work and listen along to the radio call with Brendan Batchelor on Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet Radio Network.
