Vancouver Canucks emphatically rout Arizona Coyotes: By the Numbers
Dec 23, 2014, 6:28 AM | Updated: 7:05 am
Monday night’s game in Vancouver was not a pretty sight if you’re an Arizona Coyotes fan.
The Canucks put in three goals by the end of the first period, and they would add another two before the Coyotes even got on the scoreboard with roughly five minutes left in the second period. Both teams produced a high volume of shots on goal, but Vancouver was the only one having much success with getting the puck past the goaltender.
The Canucks scored at least two goals in all three periods and routed the Coyotes 7-1 at Rogers Arena. Vancouver has won two straight after going winless the previous five games. The Canucks improved to 42 points in the standings — sixth-most in the Western Conference — and now boast a record of 20-11-2.
Arizona lost its second in a row and has just one win over its last eight games. Dave Tippett’s group fell to 11-18-4 and has the second-fewest points in the Western Conference with 26.
Here’s a look at Monday’s blowout, by the numbers:
6 (part I)
The six-goal deficit marked the Coyotes’ biggest loss of the season, as they have only given up six tallies or more in a game four times this year. The previous worst loss was a 6-1 defeat on Oct. 18 against St. Louis.
6 (part II)
The Canucks got their seven goals from six different sources, with left wing Alex Burrows the only player scoring more than one in the win. Burrows notched his seventh and eighth goals of the season by the end of the second period.
8
On a second-period power play, defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored the Coyotes’ lone goal of the night. It was the fifth-year pro’s eighth of the season, tying him with Antoine Vermette for the second-highest total on the Coyotes. Ekman-Larsson also tied the team high with four shots on goal Monday, and he is now second among all NHL defensemen with 104 SOG this year; Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson is first with 125, while the Coyotes’ Keith Yandle is just behind Ekman-Larsson at 103.
17
Coyotes center Kyle Chipchura racked up a whopping 17 penalty minutes all at once in the second period, due to fighting with Canucks left wing Tom Sestito, who was sentenced to five minutes in the box. Mikkel Boedker served two of Chipchura’s 17 minutes. In the PIM category, the Coyotes had 31 minutes on the night, while the Canucks had 17.
22
Yandle was credited with his 19th assist of the season on Ekman-Larsson’s second-period goal. Yandle took the team lead in points with 22, just one ahead of Vermette. The 28-year-old defenseman’s recent success against Vancouver continued Monday, as he is now 1-5-6 in his last seven outings against the Canucks.
24
Arizona gave up six goals or more three times in its first eight games of the season — the last being on Oct. 28, a 7-3 loss to Tampa Bay — but that hadn’t happened again in a span of 24 games, which obviously came to an end Monday.
40-39
Both times combined for a whopping 79 shots on goal, with Vancouver finishing with a one-SOG advantage. Arizona actually led in the battle for most of the night, but Vancouver overtook the visitors in the final period. The Canucks, also, had much more to show for it on the scoreboard.
.636
Coyotes starting goaltender Mike Smith allowed almost as many goals as he made saves: He stopped just seven of the 11 shots against him before being pulled early in the second period. Smith’s record fell to 5-15-2 as he saved just .636 percent of the shots at him Monday. The 32-year-old veteran has now surrendered four goals or more in a game nine times this season. He debuted a new mask at the start of the game, but it seemed to not bring him the best of luck.
#Coyotes G Mike Smith will wear his new mask tonight versus the #Canucks pic.twitter.com/NLlUgnuiRg
— Rich Nairn (@RichNairn9) December 22, 2014
Devan Dubnyk came in and allowed three Vancouver goals in 29 attempts against him, a save percentage of .897. Meanwhile, Canucks goalie Ryan Miller had a stellar game of 38 saves in 39 shots against him.
April 8, 2013
Arizona hadn’t suffered a non-overtime loss to Vancouver since April 8 of the 2012-13 season. The Coyotes had a 4-0-2 record against the Canucks since that time — until Monday’s loss, of course.
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