31_VAN_stats

NHL.com is providing in-depth analysis for each of its 31 teams throughout August. Today, three key statistics for the Vancouver Canucks.

1. Horvat's face-offs

Bo Horvat led the NHL with 2,018 face-offs last season and was second with 1,083 wins, three behind Ryan O'Reilly of the St Louis Blues. He also led the NHL with 892 face-off wins at even strength; his winning percentage (54.1 percent) was sixth among forwards who took at least 1,500 even-strength draws. Horvat, who has led the Canucks in face-offs in each of the past four seasons, took 1,260 more face-offs last season than Jay Beagle, who was second on Vancouver with 758.

31 in 31: Vancouver Canucks 2019-20 season preview

2. Miller's power-play points

J.T. Miller had an NHL career-high 20 power-play points with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season and was fourth among their forwards with an average of 2:35 of power-play ice time per game. It was Miller's second straight season with at least 18 power-play points, and he'll likely play on Vancouver's top unit with Horvat, forwards Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser, and either Alexander Edler or rookie Quinn Hughes at defenseman. Pettersson was the only Canucks skater who had at least 20 power-play points last season (22), but it's worth noting that Edler (17 in 56 games) and Boeser (15 in 69 games) each missed time because of injury.

3. Pettersson's points

Pettersson led NHL rookies with 66 points (28 goals, 38 assists) in 71 games last season, 21 more than Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk, who was second. He also led rookies with 10 power-play goals and 22 power-play points before being voted the winner of the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year. Pettersson's average of 0.93 points per game was third among rookie NHL forwards who played at least 50 games since 2007-08, behind Mathew Barzal for the New York Islanders (1.04 in 2017-18) and Artemi Panarin for the Chicago Blackhawks (0.96 in 2015-16). He also had 15 multipoint games, including two when he had five points (two goals, three assists against the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 2; one goal, four assists at the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 9).

Top 10 plays of 2018-19: Pettersson