5 reasons for optimism despite the Canucks rough start

Don't give up hope yet.

The Vancouver Canucks are reeling.

The first three games of the season have not gone as planned. They managed to eke out a win in their season opener against a tired Calgary Flames team, but there haven’t been many reasons for optimism. They’ve played one solid period out of nine.

Canucks fans on social media are taking to the poor start as expected. One user wants head coach Adam Foote fired three games into his career. Another wants Elias Pettersson bought out. Almost everyone wants someone traded.

The panic meter is rising and is close to exploding. Despite that, there are a few positives from the first three games that give reasons for optimism. Here are five good things we’ve seen from the Canucks so far.

1. Thatcher Demko looks like Thatcher Demko again

Thatcher Demko looks like his Vezina Trophy-contending self. He’s stopped 51 of 54 shots, won one of two games, and his 2.257 goals-saved-above-expected per 60 minutes is the best mark of any NHL goalie with multiple starts this year.

“That’s my standard,” said Demko about his first two performances. “Anything less than that, I’m not very happy with. Obviously, I want to win the game. I needed one more save in Edmonton, so that’s kind of where my mind’s at.”

The Canucks can’t ask for much more than what they’ve been getting from Demko through two starts. If that’s going to be his standard this year, he’ll give them a chance in every game.

2. Elias Pettersson’s process is a lot better…even if the results haven’t come yet

Elias Pettersson has not been good enough to start the season. There’s no excusing his play, especially after everything that’s happened over the past 18 months.

People are upset with Pettersson for good reason. I’ve even been critical on social media. But there are encouraging signs under the hood that this year could be different than last.

The Canucks have outchanced opponents 16-11 and controlled 68.26% of the expected goals with Pettersson on the ice at five-on-five. If he can continue to control play like that, the results will follow.

He needs to create more shots for himself and be more dangerous offensively, but he’s not hurting the team nearly as much as some other players on the roster.

3. Quinn Hughes hasn’t shown up yet

It’s been a rather pedestrian start to the season for Quinn Hughes. The superhuman star defenceman has just one assist so far and hasn’t dominated as per usual.

The Canucks are tied with their opponents 3-3 with Hughes on the ice at five-on-five this season. They outscored teams 157- 112 with Hughes over the past two seasons.

The former Norris Trophy winner’s track record speaks for itself. There’s little chance this level continues, and it’s only a matter of time before he’s back on top of the world.

4. Canucks are winning non-Hughes minutes

Take a look at the following table.

Canucks GF vs GA WITHOUT Hughes at 5-on-5 (Noah Strang)

The Canucks have won their five-on-five non-Hughes minutes just once in the past three years. It’s not a coincidence that was the year they made the playoffs.

So far this season, they’ve outscored opponents 4-2 without Hughes at five-on-five. It’s a tiny sample size, and it’s way too early to draw any meaningful conclusions, but it’s a good sign.

If the Canucks can outscore opponents in non-Hughes minutes, it’s only a matter of time before they start winning when their captain returns to dominant form.

5. Penalty kill looks good despite losing key contributors

The penalty kill is clicking along at 91.7% so far. They’ve scored one short-handed goal and allowed one power play goal, putting them at net 100%.

The Canucks lost two of their five most-used penalty killers last season in Pius Suter and Carson Soucy. Despite that, the early goings of this season have been good (although there are some cracks visible in the foundation in the advanced stats).

Conor Garland barely played short-handed last year and is their most-used forward on the penalty kill so far. Arshdeep Bains is another new addition to the PK unit, and he’s been performing well, allowing a team-low 1.99 goals-against-per-60 while on the ice, albeit in a small sample size.

There’s reason to believe that this unit won’t miss a beat despite losing some of its regulars from last year.