The Vancouver Canucks surged past the Boston Bruins 3-2 in overtime after a thrilling third-period comeback. It didn’t always look that way though, with a back-and-forth first period leading to the Canucks trailing 2-0 after two frames. But, instead of packing it in, the team showed resiliency, fighting and clawing their way back into the game against excellent opposition, a team that embarrassed them just a couple of games prior. This was a great performance to snap a losing skid, especially against a team like the Bruins.

Here’s the win, by the numbers.

As always, you can find our glossary guide of advanced stats here.

Game Flow

It was a close affair to start the game, with the Canucks falling ever so slightly behind the Bruins in CF% and xGF%. They did see an uptick in the CF% in the second, putting up a 62.86% share in the frame, but still yielded a 43.94 xGF%, resulting in the 2-0 Boston lead in that frame. However, the third period was a different story. Vancouver found that extra gear that had been missing in the last couple of games, throwing an onslaught at the Bruins to claw their way back even. In the final period of regulation, the Canucks held a 76.00 CF% and a 59.69 xGF%, out-chancing Boston 16-6 during that span. For context, the Canucks had 14 scoring chances in the first and second combined. They found the goals to tie it up, before being able to rifle the overtime winner.

Heat Map

The heat map was all over the place today, with the Canucks able to do a pretty decent job at preventing the Bruins from establishing a true hot spot in the slot area. They were also able to win out with a slightly denser hot spot in the offensive end as well, so the percentages were in favour of Vancouver to convert. In total, the scoring chances were 33-15 for the Canucks, a 15-9 lead in high-danger chances as well.

Individual Advanced Stats

Corsi Champ:  Nikita Zadorov was a boss in this one. The defenceman led the Canucks in Corsi against the Bruins, producing an eye-popping 79.17 CF% at 5v5. Along with that Corsi came a 10-2 shot difference, holding the Bruins to barely anything against the entire night. Not only was the puck possession on point though, Zadorov was making his presence known physically as well, throwing his body around and being an absolute menace.

Corsi Chump:  On the flip side, Tyler Myers was the Canucks’ worst Corsi man, coming in at a 42.86 CF%. That resulted in the team’s worst xGA of 1.29, as well as a team-worst 33.61 xGF%. The scoring chances were at least split 7-7, though Myers was on ice for a 3-4 deficit for high-danger chances, giving up a goal against as well. It wasn’t the best performance from the Chaos Giraffe, but he’s earned a bit of slack after some very solid performances during the Canucks’ losing skid.

xGF:  Guess who’s back? Zadorov was also the team’s best man in terms of expected goals, generating a 79.78 xGF% with the third-lowest xGA of 0.14. Granted, he was mostly playing against the Bruins’ middle 6, but producing these sorts of share numbers against any calibre of NHL competition is impressive. The Russian held Boston to without a single high-danger chance during his ice time as well. In raw xGF, Quinn Hughes bounced back nicely, tallying up 1.41 to lead the team.

GSAx:  Thatcher Demko was solid against the Bruins, as he needed to be. Boston racked up 2.80 xGF against the American netminder, who finished with a 0.80 GSAx on the night. The two goals that got by him were high-danger too, Demko staying perfect from all other areas. He bailed them out early on, letting the Canucks have the chance to get back into this game – which proved huge in the end.

Statistical Musings

Arshdeep Bains finding a home in the top 6:  With the lines tossed into the blender once more to try and get things going, Arshdeep Bains found himself slotting in alongside Elias Lindholm and Conor Garland. The trio were actually quite solid together, an unlucky bounce for a goal against aside. They put together the best CF% by some margin amongst forward lines, an 80.00 CF% on the night while producing the best shot differential (9-3), playing the most minutes against David Pasternak. They also gave up the least high-danger chances against with just a single one – although, unfortunately, that was the goal against. But, that aside, Bains hasn’t looked out of place within this Canucks lineup, and that versatility will be a huge asset for Tocchet and his lineups going down the road.

JT Miller matching up again: It isn’t just the offence from JT Miller lately. The most consistent Canuck was thrust into playing against Charlie Coyle’s line and did an admirable job, out possessing them to the tune of 73.68 CF% while out-chancing them 7-0 in that span. The xGF% share was absurd too, producing a 90.69 xGF% against some very good competition to shut them down. Miller’s been leading by example, and it’s finally paid dividends in this one.

As a team

CF% – 62.41% HDCF% – 62.50% xGF% – 52.43%

The Canucks battled in this one. It was a great display of the guts that the team has to offer, fighting back from a two-goal deficit and doing so with great work offensively. When they were on, the Canucks were coming in waves, and proved to be too much for the Bruins to handle on this night. Miller threw this team on his back again, while other individuals stepped up big to get the result. Biggest thing? It always feels good to beat Boston.

Vancouver gets a bit of a break before welcoming the Pittsburgh Penguins to town on Tuesday.

Stats provided by naturalstattrick.com