Welcome to the latest edition of the Vancouver Canucks Stock Market, a series dedicated to analyzing the recent performance of all things Canucks, including players, coaches, management, prospects and more.
Too often last season, the Canucks were like Jekyll and Hyde. One game they were good and looked like a playoff team, and the next game it was the exact opposite. Despite having a new head coach with a seemingly better system, that routine reared its head again between their season opener on Thursday, where they won 5-1 against the Calgary Flames, and Saturday, where they lost 3-1 to the Edmonton Oilers.
Related: Evander Kane’s second act: Can the Canucks unlock his leadership potential
Although 3-1 seems like a close game, that was certainly not the case Oilers looked ten times better than the Canucks, outshooting them 37-15 and 42-24 (19-7 high danger), respectively. The only reason it was competitive was the play of their goalie, Thatcher Demko, which is where we’ll start this edition of the Canucks Stock Market.
Off the Charts: Thatcher Demko
Demko has been phenomenal so far this season and could be 2-0-0 if his team were better positioned for him. He has allowed just three goals in his first two games and stopped 51 of 54 shots for a .944 save percentage (SV%). He also faced 17 high-danger shots and stopped 16 for a SV% of 0.941. He was under siege on Saturday, as the Oilers had 19 high-danger opportunities, and he only passed up one.
Demko made Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid and David Tomesek look skyward multiple times, mostly stoning Draisaitl with a highlight-reel glove save and tight end Tomesek with his athleticism and quick pads. In short, he was the only reason the Canucks were in that game, and he might have stolen a win (or at least a point) if the Oilers hadn’t gotten a stick on Brock Boeser’s shot in the final minutes.
Up… Then down: Filip Chytil
Canucks fans have seen the good and the bad from Filip Chytil over the past two games. He was the hero in the first game, scoring twice in the third period and looking like the second-line center the team was looking for. Then, against the Oilers, he was one of the reasons they lost, committing a blatant turnover that went into the back of the net. The Canucks were on their way to a comeback after Boeser scored to make it 2-1, but Chytil, trying to fire a pass up the ice in a four-on-four, placed the ball right on the stick of Andrew Mangiapane, who made no mistake and fired past Demko’s short side. The Canucks then lost their momentum and the game ended up being 3-1.
There was a lot of hope that we would see a different Elias Pettersson in the first two games of the season. Unfortunately, we haven’t, as he hasn’t been impactful or dominant, other than seemingly having a shoot-first mentality. But even that hasn’t translated to the scoresheet; he has just two shots on target and five shot attempts so far. He also struggled in the faceoff circle against the Oilers, winning just three faceoffs the entire game for a winning percentage of 16.7. If he wants to be the center on the top line, he has to start making plays, and that starts with having the puck.
Pettersson better turn things around quickly, because it’s only a matter of time before the media starts asking him tough questions. Yes, he got stronger over the summer, and yes, he looked good in training camp and preseason, but the regular season is what counts, and we’re now seeing way too much of 2023-24 Pettersson, and that’s bad news for a team hoping to make the playoffs this season.
Above: punishment murder
Okay, let’s get back to a positive part of the Canucks game, and that is the penalty kill. They have yet to give up a power play goal this season and are currently a perfect 9-for-9 through two games. That includes keeping the Oilers off the board in five chances on Saturday against the likes of Draisaitl, McDavid and Evan Bouchard. While much of the credit should go to Demko, who had to stop nine shots, the PK is still perfect, and as we all know, a team’s goaltender is its biggest penalty killer. Heading into games on Monday, the Canucks are one of six teams with a perfect PK, which is impressive considering they are still missing one of their best in Teddy Blueger.
In his absence (along with former top penalty killers Dakota Joshua and Pius Suter), Conor Garland and Drew O’Connor have picked up the lion’s share of minutes and have done a masterful job of keeping the team among the best in the NHL. Once Blueger is back, it should keep humming along, quelling a major problem coming this season.
Down: Power play
It’s been a while since the Canucks could boast a top power play and penalty kill at the same time. Unfortunately, the trend of one going up and the other going down has continued early in this season. As we have just outlined, the penalty killing has been a bright spot so far; however, the power play was completely the opposite. They haven’t scored a goal yet and are 0-for-6 with a short goal against (Draisaitl’s empty-netter). The first unit of Evander Kane, Elias Pettersson, Jake DeBrusk, Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes didn’t look dangerous, and the second unit barely sees the ice to make a difference, including the shooting talents of Jonathan Lekkerimaki.
Many people want Lekkerimaki to take Kane’s spot on the top unit. Consider myself one of them. We’ve already seen it how quickly he makes his shotand things are clearly not working right now with Kane in Lekkerimaki’s office. The problem is that Kane and DeBrusk are pretty much the same player; they go to the front of the net and score most of their goals a few yards from the goalkeeper. DeBrusk scored 22 dangerous goals last season while Kane had 11 in 2023-2024. It’s clear they have a presence in net, and they’re both on the same power play unit. Not exactly the best use of their skills.
The second unit has no net presence, so Kane would provide that. Braeden Cootes could then move to Lekkerimaki’s spot, as he isn’t really suited for the net front anyway. With these changes, it would make the first unit more dangerous and put Kane in the role he has been most successful in in the past.
What’s next for the Canucks?
The Canucks will look to wipe out the early negativity in their next matchup against the St. Louis Blues on Thanksgiving Monday. The Blues are coming off a 4-2 win over the Flames and have the same record as the Canucks at 1-1-0. The Canucks will look to improve their home record to 2-0-0, which would be a huge improvement from last season when they started 0-0-2.
All advanced stats were courtesy of Natural statistical trick
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