The Vancouver Canucks need the best from their No. 1 netminder again.
In their third-period collapse against the Sabres, the two late goals against given up by the Canucks were team failures. But both were moments where Demko could have bailed them out. That’s what he’s done in the past.
The Canucks need that guy back.
0.5
As it stands, Demko only saves 0.5 goals above expected, according to Natural Stat Trick. This is by looking at the goal probability of all the shots he has faced and then comparing the total goals he’s actually yielded.
Kevin Lankinen, for comparison, has saved 5.5 goals above expected.
Over the past two seasons, Demko has saved 14.6 goals above expected, the bulk of those in the 2022-23 season, when the Canucks’ defence was very porous.
Demko has been fine, but the Canucks could use great.
6
Of the 19 goals Demko has yielded at five-on-five his season, six have come on top of the crease, in the left-hand half.
For whatever reason, that is proving to be a vulnerability in his current play.
Notably, it was his left knee that he injured last season and had to rehabilitate before returning to action.
Is that coincidence? It could be.
2
“We have five guys in the zone. You can’t leave a guy by himself in front of the net. They are big moment plays you just can’t allow,” he said Wednesday.
-1
For much of the past two months, the Canucks have taken more penalties than they have drawn.
According to MoneyPuck.com, the Canucks’ 10-game rolling average since Nov. 26, the Canucks have been in the red. That trend shifted this week, but in general the Canucks have been taking about 1.6 minutes in penalties more than their opponents.
That’s chasing the game. Not all those penalty minutes equate to power plays, but most of them do, and giving your opponent extra chances to score is obviously a bad idea.
25.3
Now, even if your goalie is playing well, you’ve got to generate offence, and the Canucks just aren’t getting off many shots.
They are hitting the opposition net just 25.3 times per game. Only the dreadful Chicago Blackhawks have a worse shots-on-goal rate.
People can blame the coach all they want, but the truth is this team generated offence last year playing largely the same system. They are struggling to do so this season. They had 28.4 shots per game last season.
Three goals a game doesn’t seem like a lot, but it is.