In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the only numbers that ultimately matter are wins and losses. The first-round series between the Vancouver Canucks and Nashville Predators is knotted at one win apiece, with each team needing three more wins to move on to the second round.
But there are some other numbers that can help tell the story of the Canucks and Predators performed in the first two games and how the rest of the series might unfold.
Besides, numbers are fun. Also, numbers don’t lie. So, let’s get the truth from some numbers.
42:19 — Brock Boeser’s ice time
It’s no surprise that Quinn Hughes leads the Canucks in ice time, with 49:49 over the first two games of the series, averaging out to about 24:55 per game. What’s a little more surprising is that Brock Boeser has the next highest ice time, leading all Canucks forwards with 42:19 or about 21:10 per game.
Boeser averaged 18:36 per game in ice time in the regular season, third among Canucks forwards behind Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller, who played about a minute more per game. So far in the playoffs, he’s playing a lot more.
It’s not just that Boeser is on the power play either — he leads all Canucks forwards in 5-on-5 ice time too.
It’s a bit concerning, then, that Boeser has just two shots on goal given all that ice time. Boeser scored 40 goals in the regular season; it would be pretty helpful to the Canucks’ cause if he could pop in one or two in the playoffs.
78.6% — The Miller line’s corsi
It’s understandable that Boeser is getting a lot of ice time: his line with J.T. Miller and Pius Suter is utterly dominating in puck possession.
Shot attempts are 33-to-9 for the Canucks with those three players on the ice at 5-on-5 but it’s not just attempts; shots on goal are also 11-to-3 for the Canucks and high-danger chances are 11-to-1, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Frankly, that line has been unlucky to have only scored one goal. Suter’s lack of finish has been an issue — he has 6 shots on goal at 5-on-5 to lead the Canucks, while Miller and Boeser each have just one shot on goal at 5-on-5. Ideally, that line would turn their territorial dominance into more chances for the two guys with 30+ goals this season.
Suter’s subtle impact on that line’s possession shouldn’t be overlooked, however. He just needs another bounce to go his way.
9 - Miller’s missed shots
Here’s a big reason why Pius Suter leads his line in shots on goal.
At all strengths, J.T. Miller leads the Canucks with 18 shot attempts, followed by Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson with 15 each. The trouble is, just three of those 18 shot attempts have hit the net.
Six of Miller’s shot attempts have been blocked while nine more have missed the net. Miller’s nine missed shots are the most for any Canuck so far. This is not entirely surprising — Miller led the Canucks in the regular season with 110 missed shots in 81 games — but 4.5 missed shots per game is definitely well above average.
Missing the net is something Rick Tocchet has railed against this season.
“You’ve gotta hit the net!” said Tocchet after a late-season game against the Arizona Coyotes. “Keep it low. Millsy scored when somebody shot it low, it hit a skate, and he gets the rebound. It’s very simple. You can’t shoot high from the blue line and you’ve got to hit the net.”
0 - Canucks’ power play goals
There are a lot of zeroes on the board for the Canucks right now, such as zero points for Elias Pettersson, zero shots on goal for Nils Höglander, zero hits by Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes.
The biggest zero, however, is the Canucks’ 0-for-6 power play. The power play could have been a difference-maker in Game 2 by getting a goal to spark a potential comeback.
The above-mentioned issues like Boeser failing to get shots, Pettersson being snakebitten, and Miller missing the net have contributed to the power play’s struggles but it seems close to a breakout.
“A little more decisive,” said Tocchet when asked to diagnose the problem with the power play. “We had two basically gimme, empty-net goals — whether it’s Petey or whoever, it doesn’t really matter — if you get one of those goals to go, it doesn’t look as bad and maybe [it helps] the confidence. We’ve just got to be more decisive with the shots there, a little more, too, at the net, and a little quicker pace.”
The Canucks have shaken up the power play a little bit, moving Elias Lindholm to the first unit in place of Conor Garland. Lindholm had just 6 power play goals this season between the Canucks and Calgary Flames but he has a stronger shot than Garland and a knack for tipping pucks, which plays into the Canucks’ intent to get more shots in Game 3.
“I think we’re all going to be looking, not to keep it simple, but just to get pucks to the net and see what happens and try to out-man them in front,” said Quinn Hughes. “We have a lot of confidence in ourselves as a group and we had our looks last game and I think that, throughout the course of the series, if we get looks like that, we’ll score.”
44 - Canucks' hits per game
The Canucks have been more physical than the Predators, out-hitting them 88 to 65 through two games. Surprisingly, this has been far from the most physical series in the playoffs.
The Canucks' 44 hits per game ranks 10th in the postseason so far, well behind the Los Angeles Kings' 59 hits per game.
The reason this is such a surprise is that the Canucks and Predators were the two most hit-happy teams in the Western Conference in the regular season, finishing first and second in hits per game in the West with 26.3 and 26.0 hits per game, respectively.
Certainly, both teams have been more physical than in the regular season, but not to the degree of the other Western Conference teams.
"It's the first round and it's frenetic," said Tocchet. "Guys that don't hit, they're finishing their checks. To me, it's sustainability — can you continue to do it or is it just one or two games? We don't want to run out of position for a hit. If it's there, it's there. I haven't felt that this series, both teams — I don't see a lot of people running around trying to hit. People are just hitting what's in front of them or finishing somebody."
30 - Blocked shots for the Predators in Game 2
This was ultimately the story of Game 2 — the Predators threw their bodies in front of pucks to protect the lead and the Canucks couldn’t find a way to get past them. By the end of the game, they had 30 blocked shots, with another three shots hitting Canucks in front and failing to make it to the net.
Defenceman Alexandre Carrier leads the Predators with 8 blocked shots in the series but pretty much everyone is contributing. Just two Predators, Luke Evangelista and Anthony Beauvillier, have yet to block a shot.
The Predators are looking to take advantage of one of the Canucks’ go-to tactics in the offensive zone — moving the puck low-to-high, then getting a point shot with traffic. The Predators have given the Canucks’ defencemen, particularly Quinn Hughes, room at the point to shoot, inviting that shot in hopes of blocking it and rushing the puck the other way.
Tocchet’s response? Go right ahead.
“Tee it up,” said Tocchet. “If guys want to block it, it’s gotta hurt. So, I wouldn’t turn down a shot if a guy’s going to be right in front of me.”
19.5 - Canucks’ shots per game
The Canucks are averaging just 19.5 shots per game, the lowest rate in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, just behind the Predators themselves at 20 shots per game.
The Predators have certainly been blocking a lot of shots but the Canucks have also missed the net a ton. Their 53 missed shots in the playoffs is second only to the Carolina Hurricanes and the Hurricanes have played three games.
We’ve seen from Miller and Pettersson that they can sometimes try too hard to pick a corner rather than ensuring that the goaltender has to make a save. That has to be a focus for the Canucks for the rest of the series: make Juuse Saros stop the puck.
