The Canucks’ comeback win versus the Flames on Wednesday suggests Vancouver is actually back on course.
Yes, he is playing better, and now he’s finally producing.
Where the Canucks will go was always about getting their stars, their leaders, back firing on all cylinders.
Pettersson is getting there. The Canucks hope the improvement continues.
Hughes played nearly 30 minutes in the game.
But is this team really getting forward momentum?
The results remain uneven, but when you look under the hood, you see a more nuanced picture. Let’s take a look.
51.5
The Canucks have been uneven over the past two weeks — they got some good results on last week’s home stand, but dropped a pair of losses Sunday and Tuesday against Dallas and Montreal.
Before the home stand, there was that miserable road trip.
But zoom out and you find something interesting — a team that is creating marginally more scoring chances than they are giving up.
According to MoneyPuck.com’s expected goals model, the Canucks’ scoring chances over the past 10 games add up to 51.5 per cent of the total expected goals created by the Canucks and the opposition combined.
That’s a good thing.
So how is it happening? Hughes has been mostly injured lately and Elias (EP40) Pettersson has been struggling.
It’s all about the new guys.
64.8
Filip Chytil’s addition has been nothing but positive.
In the 14 game he has now played as a Vancouver Canuck, good things have been happening with him on the ice. The Canucks are averaging 64.8 shot-attempts per 60 minutes of five-on-five ice time.
That is a similar rate to what the Canucks have been managing with Hughes on the ice.
Chytil is probably, long-term, a third-line centre, but there is little doubt that playing in a second-line role as he has so far as a Canuck, he has been doing well.
2.8
Just look at the Canucks’ expected-goals per 60 minutes of five-on-five ice time with Marcus Pettersson on the ice — the Canucks are generating 2.8 expected goals in that time.
That is fourth-best on the whole season for the Canucks. Chytil and Mancini, who has only played five games, are both ahead of Pettersson — and so is the third Pettersson, Elias the defenceman, who has seen the Canucks average 2.9 expected-goals for during 60 minutes of five-on-five ice time.
That speaks to the overall improvements in the Canucks’ game and suggests there is something here that will take the team to the playoffs.
8
Here’s the final thing to consider: The Canucks generated eight high-danger scoring chances Wednesday in Calgary during the third period. It was the most important period of the season and the Canucks rose to the occasion.
They hadn’t won a game after trailing through two periods this season, but that is no longer true — although they were also the last team to be winless in that scenario.
The Canucks remain in the playoff fight. There are signs that the process is coming together.
Will they be able to sustain this all? That’s the question.