After a less-than-stellar home stretch, the Vancouver Canucks are hitting the road once more until December 6. While Vancouver has a dismal home record so far this season at 3–5–3, the team has excelled on the road, going 6–1–0 in opposing teams’ arenas. In the next six games, the Canucks will take on the Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, and Minnesota Wild. Here’s what we can expect from all of their opponents.
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Ottawa Senators: 8–10–1, 17 pts in 19 GP
Saturday, November 23, 4:00 PM PST
Senators fall 3-2 to Vegas.
Groundhog day is in November for Ottawa.
Solid play, Ullmark was good until he wasn’t.
Margins are killing the team right now. #Sens
— Alex Adams (@alexadamsBTP_) November 22, 2024
Vancouver’s first opponent on this six-game road trip is an Ottawa Senators lineup led by a few familiar faces. Adam Gaudette is in a four-way tie for second on the team in goals scored so far this season with eight, behind only captain Brady Tkachuk (9). Zack MacEwen is third in penalty minutes with 16 and currently has two goals and one assist. Acting as head coach for the Senators is Travis Green, who previously spent just under five seasons as the Canucks’ bench boss.
The Senators are currently operating at a points-per-game percentage of slightly under .500, with .447. Their goaltending has been a bit of a sore point, something they hoped to address with the addition of Linus Ullmark in the offseason. However, while he’s started in 11 of the Senators’ 19 games, he currently has an SV% of .884 and a GAA of 2.99.
One bright spot for Ottawa, and something for Vancouver to look out for, is the Senators’ power play. Right now, they’re ranked sixth in the league for power play percentage with 27%. This unit is made up of Tkachuk, Tim Stützle, and Josh Norris, as well as forward Drake Batherson and defenceman Jake Sanderson. They’ve scored 17 goals on the power play, with four of them coming in an 8–7 victory against the Los Angeles Kings. Even without this outlier, the Senators still have a 0.26 PP%, which would keep them within the top ten in the league.
Boston Bruins: 9–9–3, 21 pts in 20 GP
Tuesday, November 26, 4:00 PM PST
The theme of familiar foes will continue on as the Canucks make a stop to face the Boston Bruins. While the Senators have dynamic, young, offensive talent in their ranks, the Bruins are barely scraping by on offence. The team has a league-worst 11.9 PP%, as well as a goals-per-game of 2.33, good for 31st in the league. Their struggles on offence aren’t overly surprising, however, as the team is in a bit of a transition phase. With Charlie Coyle and former Canuck Elias Lindholm manning the middle of the ice for the team, it hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows in Boston.
David Pastrnak currently leads the Bruins in points with 18 (eight goals and ten assists), followed by a 36-year-old Brad Marchand with 14 (five goals and nine assists). Other than their two-star forwards, Boston’s offence has seemed to dry up — what makes this even worse is that they aren’t getting the saves they need. Jeremy Swayman’s goals saved above expected is -7.3, putting him at fourth-worst in the league. His personal goals-against per game of 3.47 is slightly worse than the team’s total of 3.29, which is good for 24th in the NHL.
The Bruins are currently without Hampus Lindholm, a key cog in their defensive structure who averages the second-most time on ice at 20:51 per game. While the Bruins can lock things down at the centre of the ice, their defence will likely get tired towards the end of the game with Lindholm (the defenceman) out of their lineup. With a withered 76.8 PK%, putting them at 22nd in the league, Vancouver should wear Boston out with offensive tactics.
Pittsburgh Penguins: 7–11–4, 18 pts in 22 GP
Wednesday, November 27, 4:30 PM PST
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ downfall has been expected for a while, and now, it’s not surprising to see them skidding. Despite admirable efforts by captain Sidney Crosby, the Penguins’ core is aging, putting them at a disadvantage against such a young and fast league. Crosby leads the team in points so far this season with 20, followed closely by Evgeni Malkin (19).
Pittsburgh’s stats are somewhat scattered — they currently have the league-worst goals-against per game with 3.86, as well as the ninth-best penalty kill with 81.8%. Starts have been relatively split between Alex Nedeljkovic and Joel Blomqvist, with both goalies having a goals-against-average of above three (3.17 and 3.6, respectively). The team’s total save percentage on the season is .882.
A notable component of the Penguins’ defence has been the disappointing play of Erik Karlsson. The offensively-minded defenceman has 43 giveaways on the season, a stat that he leads all skates in the league in. He’s also seventh in the NHL in defensive zone giveaways with 23, tied with Brent Burns and Mackenzie Weegar. The rest of the defence isn’t entirely trustworthy either, as Marcus Pettersson and Ryan Graves also have high giveaway numbers, with 31 and 25 each.
Buffalo Sabres: 10–9–1, 21 pts in 20 GP
Friday, November 29, 12:00 PM PST
The Sabres have won 5 of their last 7 and they’re 9-6-1 since that 0-3 start.
The power play has scored in 7 straight and 10 of 11. Their PK is 24-for-27 over the past seven games, but Buffalo has taken at least 5 penalties in 2 of the past 3 games. https://t.co/a1Ex0FOhAS
— Lance Lysowski (@LLysowski) November 23, 2024
The Buffalo Sabres have been in a similar spot to the Ottawa Senators for a decent stretch of time — homes for up-and-coming players who wrap up their seasons with disappointing results. With their mix of youth and established talent, Buffalo looks to be on the upswing. The team’s offensive firepower has come from all over the ice, with three of their top 10 point-getters being defencemen. Tage Thompson currently has 11 goals, rounded out with seven assists to put him at 18 points on the season. He’s two points behind Alex Tuch (six goals, 14 assists) for first in points on the team.
At this point in the season, the best description for the Sabres would be middling. They aren’t the Winnipeg Jets, but they aren’t at the bottom of the standings. Buffalo’s penalty kill (79.4%) and power play percentage (18) are 16th and 18th in the NHL, respectively. Their 3.15 goals-against per game is 17th, led by Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s 14 starts. Devon Levi, who has started in six games and won two, is sporting a -7.5 goals saved above expected.
Buffalo’s strength lies in their offence, which is currently clicking at a pace of 3.25 goals per game. Eight of their skaters have double-digit point totals, including defencemen Rasmus Dahlin (17), Owen Power (15), and Bowen Byram (11). Their offensive stats are exceedingly interesting, as they’ve only taken the 26th-most shots of every team in the league. With a shooting percentage of 11.8%, putting them at sixth in the league, Vancouver will want to keep an eye on the Sabres’ offence producers.
Detroit Red Wings: 8–9–2, 18 pts in 19 GP
Sunday, December 1, 9:30 AM PST
Dylan Larkin I applaud you sir.
This is your captain being a captain. Refusing to give up fighting against the boards and getting the puck to Razor for the goal.
The Detroit Red Wings NEEDED this win and their captain made sure they got it. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/I6nfZKDObm
— Spencer Raxter (@Spenmorax) November 22, 2024
Vancouver will face off against the Detroit Red Wings at 9:30 AM, meaning that they may still be half asleep by the time the puck drops. The Canucks will have to be sharp when playing Detroit, as the Red Wings currently have one of the statistically stronger goaltenders in this list. Cam Talbot has started in 10 of Detroit’s 19 games so far, sporting a solid .920 SV% that places him at 10th in the NHL. He’s seventh in the league in goals saved above expected with 7.2 and has a goals-against average of 2.67.
Lucas Raymond leads the Red Wings’ offence with three goals and 15 assists. Captain Dylan Larkin (11), Alex DeBrincat (eight), and Andrew Copp (5) make up the team’s top three goal scorers. The sixth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, Simon Edvinsson, has shown promise with his two goals and six assists in 18 games played. Despite the flashes of offence from their youth movement, Detroit ranks 26th in the league in goals per game with 2.53.
The Red Wings have an impressive 30.2 PP%, putting them fourth in the league. On the flip side of their special teams, their penalty kill is dead-last in the NHL at 67.3%. Taking advantage of any power play opportunities that they get will be integral for the Canucks, as while Talbot has been great at 5-on-5, he’s also -2.3 in goals saved above expected on the penalty kill.
Minnesota Wild: 13–3–3, 29 pts in 19 GP
Tuesday, December 3, 5:00 PM PST
The tide seems to have turned for the Minnesota Wild, a team that has frequently been overlooked due to disappointing postseason losses. Minnesota is behind only Winnipeg in the Western Conference, with the team sporting an impressive 9–1–2 away game record. The success of the Wild comes from all ends of the ice, from Kirill Kaprizov’s league-leading 34 points to Filip Gustavsson’s league-leading 2.07 GAA.
While Kaprizov is far-and-away the team’s highest points-getter, depth scoring has contributed to Minnesota’s offence as well. Defencemen Jake Middleton and Brock Faber have 11 and 10 points, respectively, and Matt Boldy’s 11 goals puts him in second on the team. The Wild are seventh in the NHL in goals-per-game with 3.47, and their power play is currently clicking at 19.6%.
Minnesota’s goaltending has been a big talking point this season, as Filip Gustavsson has dominated the stats charts with his numbers. His nine wins in 14 games started have yielded a .926 SV% that ties him for second in the league. Gustavsson is not the only Wild goaltender who has been playing well; however, Marc-Andre Fleury has yet to lose in regulation this season. This stellar play has contributed to the team’s 2.37 goals-against per game, putting them second in the NHL. A notable dim spot for the Wild is their 77.3 PK%, something that the Canucks will need to rely on to end their road trip with a win.
