With only three regulation losses so far in 2024, the Vancouver Canucks are a steam engine that seemingly cannot be stopped. They have built up a four-point cushion on first place in the NHL and what was a tight race at the top of the Pacific Division with the Vegas Golden Knights is now a 12-point spread with the Canucks at 80 points and the Golden Knights at 68.
The Canucks are seeing unprecedented success that fans have not seen since their glory days in the 2010s when they were winning Presidents’ Trophies and Pacific Division titles almost every season. In fact, their two best seasons in 2010-11 and 2011-12 didn’t have them at 80 points after 56 games. If all goes well, the 2023-24 Canucks might make franchise history and eclipse the 54 wins and 117 points that the 2010-11 team put up when they went to the Stanley Cup Final against the Boston Bruins. They only need 18 victories in their last 26 games, which is not impossible with how this roster is clicking right now.
With all that said, let’s to this edition of Canucks’ 3 Up, 3 Down, which features a certain goaltender climbing the all-time wins list, a hometown boy possibly making his NHL debut, an unfortunate injury to Dakota Joshua, and more.
Plus One: Thatcher Demko Hits 30 Wins, Passes Dan Cloutier
After struggling at the beginning of last season and suffering a long-term injury that kept him out until January, Thatcher Demko has bounced back in a big way this season. Among goaltenders who have played 18 or more games, he is seventh in goals-against average (GAA), sixth in save percentage (SV%), and leads the league in wins with 30. His 2.45 GAA and .918 SV% are career-bests right now and have put him firmly in the conversation for the Vezina Trophy.
Demko is also climbing the Canucks all-time wins list as he passed Dan Cloutier with his victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Feb. 13 and is now in sole possession of fourth place with 111. He is only 16 wins away from passing the great Richard Brodeur for third place behind Kirk McLean (211) and Roberto Luongo (252), and if he plays his entire career with the Canucks, he could conceivably become the all-time leader by the time he retires.
Minus One: Dakota Joshua Week-to-Week With Upper-Body Injury
The Canucks haven’t had to deal with a lot of injuries in their forward group this season. But all good things eventually come to an end, and that happened against the Blackhawks when Joshua hurt his hand while fighting Mackenzie Entwistle. Head coach Rick Tocchet gave an update on the rugged forward’s status on Friday (Feb. 16) saying that he is week-to-week.
“I don’t know whether it’s a week or two…That’s unfortunate but he can use this positively, we’ll get him skating and stuff like that but week to week.”
Related: Canucks Should Extend Blueger, Joshua & Lafferty
Joshua has been a key cog in the Canucks’ uber-effective third line with Conor Garland and Teddy Blueger and already has a career-high 13 goals and 26 points. He is also leading the team in hits with 197 and has become one of Tocchet’s best penalty-killers. Needless to say, he will be missed, and hopefully, he can return sooner rather than later. Ilya Mikheyev suited up alongside the duo against the Detroit Red Wings and Winnipeg Jets on Thursday and Saturday respectively, but he is a far cry from Joshua in every shape and form.
Plus Two: Arshdeep Bains Gets the Call From Abbotsford
A season removed from leading the Western Hockey League (WHL) in scoring and now in his second campaign with the Abbotsford Canucks in the American Hockey League (AHL), undrafted forward Arshdeep Bains could be realizing his hockey dream very soon. He was recalled by the Canucks on Feb. 16 to join the club in Vancouver and there is a good chance he will be making his NHL debut in short order.
At the time of his recall, the 23-year-old was leading the Canucks affiliate in scoring with nine goals and 39 points in 42 games and was coming off his first AHL All-Star Classic appearance where he scored the winning goal and was named MVP. He has had a remarkable sophomore surge this season, eclipsing the 38 points he had in 66 games in 2022-23 and proving to everyone that undrafted doesn’t mean that NHL dreams can’t come true. His feisty, forechecking style could work well alongside Blueger and Garland until Joshua returns to the lineup.
Minus Two: Power Play Continues To Struggle
The Canucks’ power play has not scored since Feb. 6, when Elias Lindholm potted two goals in his debut. They have struggled to get pucks on net, and hopelessly pass it around trying to find the perfect shot. They have also allowed three shorthanded goals in that time and seemingly lack the cohesiveness that they showed early on in the season. The unit is still 11th in the league at 23.1 percent, but has not looked good for a very long time. After their 4-2 loss to the Jets, they are now 0/19 in their last six games.
If I were Tocchet I would try set lines on the power play with Lindholm between Elias Pettersson and Nils Hoglander and JT Miller between Brock Boeser and Pius Suter. Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek would be the defencemen on the respective units and Mikheyev and Conor Garland would join as the extra forwards. Maybe a drastic change like that will get the power play going in the right direction.
Plus Three: How Swede It Is! Hoglander, Lindholm & Pettersson Thriving Together
The all-Swedish line of Lindholm, Pettersson and Hoglander was arguably the Canucks’ best trio on Thursday against the Red Wings. They were generating chances every time they were on the ice and Lindholm finished with two goals and Pettersson with three assists. Since being put together, they have been analytics darlings at five-on-five with a 60.98 Corsi for percentage (CF%), five high-danger chances, and two high-danger goals, and have outshot and out-chanced the opposition 16-13 and 15-12 respectively.
When Lindholm was acquired from the Calgary Flames, he was paired with Pettersson and Mikheyev. It wasn’t a successful union as they struggled to gain possession in the offensive zone and gave up shots and chances galore. In 21:16 of ice time, they recorded an abysmal 38.24 CF% and were outshot 11-3 and out-chanced 12-4. They also gave up eight high-danger chances and only had one of their own. Finally, they were on the ice for two high-danger goals against. In the end, that trio was quickly disbanded and Hoglander has replaced Mikheyev with great success so far.
Hoglander has earned the right to join the top-six with his goal-scoring exploits this season, as he is now up to a career-high 17 goals in only 54 games. His previous high was in his rookie season when he potted 13 in 56. He is also only four points away from setting a new high in points. I think it’s safe to say that he has sufficiently bounced back from the struggles of his past two seasons.
Minus Three: Mikheyev’s Goal Drought Hits 24 Games
Mikheyev needs a break, anything to stop this 24-game goal drought. He still hasn’t scored in the year 2024 and has now been dropped to the fourth line with Nils Aman and Sam Lafferty. He can’t buy a goal even when he gets a high-danger scoring chance, as evidenced by the partial breakaway he had against Connor Hellebuyck on Saturday. He made the wrong decision to go blocker side and Hellebuyck easily punched it away.
I think Mikheyev would take an empty netter at this point just to break the goose egg and get the monkey off his back. His last goal was over two months ago against the Blackhawks on Dec. 17, and he only has eight points in his last 24 games. If he was a regular bottom-six forward getting paid $2 million, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but for a guy making $4.75 million and expected to score at least 20 goals, this drought is becoming a major problem.
While Mikheyev has been good defensively and is contributing to the penalty kill, he is getting paid to score and play in the top-six. Hopefully, at the very least, he can get going in the weeks leading up to the playoffs so that the Canucks can have his secondary scoring for the inevitable tight one-goal games in the first round.
What’s Next For the Canucks?
After a 1-1 homestand that saw the Canucks beat the Red Wings 4-1 and lose to the Jets 4-2, they will head back on to the road for a quick three-game trip that will take them through Minnesota, Colorado and Seattle. Starting in the Twin Cities for a Monday matinee, they will face Kirill Kaprizov and the Wild who lost to the Buffalo Sabres in overtime on Saturday. They are four points out of a playoff spot right now, so the Canucks can expect a desperate team. They have played the Wild twice already this season and both were tight affairs with the Canucks prevailing 2-0 on Dec. 7 and the Wild returning the favour on Dec. 16 with a 2-1 shootout win.
