Vancouver Canucks

GAME NOTES | CANUCKS AT COYOTES - APR. 13/23

April 14, 2023



CANUCKS @ COYOTES

TV: Sportsnet Pacific, Bally Sports Arizona

Radio: Sportsnet 650

MATCH-UP INFO

  • Tonight marks the third and final meeting between the Canucks and Coyotes this season: Dec. 3 (3-2 OTW @ VAN), Mar. 16 (3-2 L @ ARI), and Apr. 13 (away).
  • Vancouver is 105-72-20-9 all-time against Arizona, including a 40-44-10-6 record on the road.
  • The Canucks are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games against the Coyotes (4-1-0 in their last five).
  • J.T. Miller leads all active Canucks skaters with 18 points (4-14-18) in 19 career games against Arizona.
  • Elias Pettersson has 12 points (4-8-12) in nine career games against the Coyotes.
  • Anthony Beauvillier has 10 points (6-4-10) in 12 career games against Arizona.
  • Quinn Hughes has seven points (0-7-7) in five career games against the Coyotes.
  • Conor Garland has five points (2-3-5) in five career games against his former team.
  • Tyler Myers leads all active Canucks in career games played against Arizona at 22 (2-8-10 in those games).
  • Thatcher Demko is 2-3-0 in five career games against the Coyotes with a 2.63 GAA and .912 SV%.
  • Collin Delia has yet to face the Arizona Coyotes in his career.

QUICK NUMBERS

  • J.T. Miller has 18 points (6-12-18) in his last 14 games.
  • Elias Pettersson has 15 points (6-9-15) in his last 13 games.
  • Quinn Hughes has 12 points (2-10-12) in his last 14 games.
  • Andrei Kuzmenko has 10 points (5-5-10) in his last 11 games.
  • Brock Boeser has nine points (5-4-9) in his last 10 games.
  • The Canucks are 19-12-4 since Rick Tocchet took over as Head Coach on January 22.

LAST MEETING - MAR. 16/23: VAN 2 at ARI 3

Andrei Kuzmenko opened the scoring for third time in the last six games at 5:14 in the first period...His goal matched Pavel Bure's record of 34 goals for most by a Canucks player in their first NHL season...Anthony Beauvillier and Elias Pettersson recorded the Vancouver Canucks: Media Notes assists for their first of two points each on the night...Pettersson then tallied his 31st goal of the season at 11:41 in the third period, assisted by Beauvillier and Conor Garland...Pettersson led all Canucks skaters in shots (5)...Brock Boeser registered a team-high four hits...Guillaume Brisebois led the team in blocked shots (3)...Thatcher Demko faced 27 shots.

LAST GAME PLAYED - APR. 11/23: VAN 3 at ANA 2

Brock Boeser opened the scoring on a tic-tac-toe power play passing play for his 18th goal of the season at 12:14 in the first period...Elias Pettersson recorded his 100th point of the season with the primary assist while J.T. Miller collected the secondary assist...Andrei Kuzmenko notched his team-leading 39th goal of the campaign, also on the power play, at 16:12 in the first period...Akito Hirose and Thatcher Demko assisted on the play...Miller added a goal of his own at 1:26 in the third period for the eventual game-winning goal and his 200th career tally, assisted by Phillip Di Giuseppe and Pettersson...Boeser and Pettersson co-led the team in shots (5)...Miller led all Canucks in hits (3) and Kyle Burroughs led in blocks (3)...Thatcher Demko made 33 saves.

LAST 5 vs ARIZONA

  • Mar. 16/23: VAN 2 at ARI 3
  • Dec. 3/22: VAN 3 vs ARI 2 (OT)
  • Apr. 14/22: VAN 7 vs ARI 1
  • Apr. 7/22: VAN 5 at ARI 1
  • Feb. 8/22: VAN 5 vs ARI 1

WRAPPING UP ON THE ROAD

As the final game of a three-game trip (1-1-0 so far) tonight's game marks the 22nd time in franchise history that the Canucks will conclude their regular season on the road (7-8-3-3 all-time) and the sixth time in the last seven years. Since the team's inception in 1970.71, Vancouver has posted a 26-16-6-3 on the final game of the regular season, home or away. In the only two season finales against the Coyotes/Jets franchise to date, the Canucks have recorded a 3-2 OTW (1990.91 vs Winnipeg Jets) and 3-1 L (2006.07 at Phoenix Coyotes).

ECLIPSING ONE HUNDRED

Collecting the primary assist on Brock Boeser's power play marker on Apr. 11 at ANA, Elias Pettersson became the sixth player in Canucks history (seventh instance) to record 100 points in a season (38-62-100) and the first since Daniel Sedin (41-63-104) in 2010.11. Pettersson added another assist later in the game to reach 101 points and enters Thursday's game at Arizona three points shy of tying Daniel Sedin and Markus Naslund (2002.03) for fifth-most points in a season by a Canucks skater (104).

  • Pettersson is also just the second Canuck (third instance) to register at least 95 points in a season by age 24 or younger (trailing only Pavel Bure who had 107 points in 1993.94 and 110 points in 1992.93).

THIRTY AND THRIVING

Netting his third game-winning goal of the season on Apr. 11 at ANA, J.T. Miller reached the 200-goal plateau in his career. Of his 200 career goals between Vancouver, Tampa Bay, and the New York Rangers, 105 have come in a Canucks uniform in just 282 games played (0.37 G/GP). The 30-year-old centreman is also only three points away from 300 as a Canuck and could become the second- fastest player in club history to reach the milestone behind Pavel Bure (246 GP) and ahead of Elias Pettersson (306 GP).

TWO POINTS ARE BETTER THAN ONE

With two assists (0-2-2) in a winning effort on Apr. 11 at ANA, Pettersson registered his 29th multi-point game of the 2022.23 season, ranking as the sixth-most multi-point outings by a Canucks player in a single season behind only Henrik Sedin (34 in 2009.10), Pavel Bure (32 in 1992.93 & 1993.94), Daniel Sedin (32 in 2010.11), and Alexander Mogilny (30 in 1995.96).

KUZMENK-SHOW CONTINUES

Scoring the go-ahead goal on the power play on Apr. 11 at ANA, Andrei Kuzmenko regained sole possession of the team lead in goals this season (39), one up on Elias Pettersson. Kuzmenko's 39 goals are also tied for the fifth-most in an NHL player's first season since 1988.89 with Sidney Crosby (2005.06), trailing Auston Matthews (40 in 2016.17), Eric Lindros (41 in 1992.93), Alex Ovechkin (52 in 2005.06), and Teemu Selanne (76 in 1992.93).

  • Previously on Mar. 28 at STL, Kuzmenko became the Canucks' all-time leader for points in a season by a first year NHL player, surpassing Elias Pettersson's mark of 66 points in 2018.19, and on Mar. 23 vs SJS, he set the record for most goals (35) in a season in franchise history by a first-year player, surpassing Pavel Bure (34) in 1991.92.
  • Andrei Kuzmenko now owns an NHL-best 27.5% shooting percentage (min. 50 shots) so far this season, and currently possesses the highest shooting percentage in NHL history (min. 100 shots) since the stat started being tracked in 1959.60. He is also just the second player in the League since 1994.95 with a minimum of 100 shots to hold a shooting percentage above 25.0% in a season, joining Mike Ribeiro (25.2% in 2007.08).

CANUCKS ANNOUNCE 2022.23 TEAM AWARDS

The Vancouver Canucks announced their annual Team Awards during their final home game of the regular season on April 8 at Rogers Arena. Among the seven awards announced, four were voted on by Canucks fans from April 2 to 6.

  • Cyclone Taylor Trophy - "Most Valuable Player" (fan vote): Elias Pettersson
  • Walter (Babe) Pratt Trophy - "Best Defenceman" (fan vote): Quinn Hughes
  • Pavel Bure Award - "Most Exciting Player" (fan vote): Andrei Kuzmenko
  • Fred J. Hume Award - "Unsung Hero" (fan vote): Dakota Joshua
  • Daniel and Henrik Sedin Award - "Community Leadership": Brock Boeser
  • Cyrus H. McLean Trophy - "Leading Scorer": Elias Pettersson
  • Three Stars Award - "Most Three Stars Selections": Elias Pettersson

"SCORING ON THE PK" - A CANUCKS' SHORT

With his shorthanded tally on Apr. 8 vs CGY, Elias Pettersson registered the team's 15th shorthanded marker of 2022.23, second in the NHL to the Edmonton Oilers (17). This total represents the fifth-highest single-season total in franchise history, and the most in a single season since 1998.99. Pettersson and teammate J.T. Miller, who recorded the assist, each registered their ninth shorthanded points in 2022.23 to tie Pavel Bure (1992.93 & 1997.98) and Russ Courtnall (1995.96) for most shorthanded points by a Canucks player in a single season.

  • Previously, burying back-to-back shorthanded goals in a span of just 44 seconds on Mar. 4 vs TOR, Elias Pettersson (6:49, 3rd period) and J.T. Miller (7:33, 3rd period) recorded the fourth-fastest pair of shorthanded goals in Canucks history to turn a 1-1 tie into a 3-1 lead. It also marked the sixth time in franchise history (second time this season: also Feb. 18 vs PHI) that the Canucks have scored multiple times on the same two-minute penalty against, and the first occasion not involving an empty net since Apr. 9/98 vs CGY.

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

Following Cole McWard's NHL debut on Apr. 6 vs CHI, a total of six players have made their NHL debuts with Vancouver this season, tied for fourth-most in the League (w/ NSH, NYI, OTT) behind only Chicago (7), Columbus (7), and Toronto. The Canucks have now had 38 skaters appear in at least one game this season, matching the franchise record for most skaters dressed in a season (1987.88). McWard also became the 16th defenceman to play for the team, two more than the previous club record of 14 (1997.98, 2005.06, and 2018.19).

PETEY'S POINT STREAK

Scoring his 36th goal of the season on Mar. 31 vs CGY, Elias Pettersson extended his career-high point streak to 14 games (from Mar. 4 vs TOR to Mar. 31 vs CGY with 8-12-20 in those games), matching Clayton Keller (ARI) for the longest active point streak in the NHL during that time. He tied Darcy Rota (1982.83) for the third longest point streak in franchise history, only trailing Petr Nedved (1992.93) and Todd Bertuzzi (2001.02) who each had point streaks of 15 games.

  • Pettersson also held a road point streak of 13 games (10-11-21) from Feb 6 - Mar. 28, which was the second longest of its kind in franchise history behind Pavel Bure's 15-game road point streak (18-12-30) in 1993.94.

ANOTHER RECORD... BUT HUGHES COUNTING?

Recording two goals and adding an assist on Mar. 28 at STL, Quinn Hughes (7-65-72 in 70 GP) became the fifth NHL defenceman in the last 30 years to record a 70-point season before the age of 24. The three-point effort (2-1-3) was the 16th such occasion of Hughes' career, tying him with Jyrki Luume for the most three-point games by a Canucks blueliner in franchise history. Hughes has been on a tear all season, recently breaking the following records:

  • Mar. 28 at STL - Moved into seventh place for all-time points (238) by a Canucks defenceman, past Sami Salo (236). He is now just three points back of matching Kevin Bieksa's 241 points in a Canucks uniform for sixth-most by a Vancouver defenceman.
  • Mar. 26 at CHI - Notched his 69th point of the season for the most points by a defenceman in a single season (previously 68 in 2021.22).
  • Mar. 21 vs VGK - Broke his own franchise record for most assists in a single season by a defenceman with 62 (last set in 2021.22 at 60). The contest against the Golden Knights was also Hughes' 17th multi-assist game of the season to become only the second Canuck (fifth instance) in franchise history to register at least as many multi-assist performances in a single season (joining Henrik Sedin in 2006.07 [19], 2009.10 [23], 2010.11 [20], and 2011.12 [19]).
  • Mar. 4 vs TOR - Became the fastest defenceman in NHL history to reach 200 career NHL assists in just 263 games.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

  • Jack Rathbone reassigned to Abbotsford, Apr. 6
  • Cole McWard signed to a two-year, entry-level contract, Apr. 4
  • Nikita Tolopilo signed to a two-year, entry-level contract, Mar. 31
  • Jack Rathbone recalled under emergency conditions, Mar. 30
  • Akito Hirose signed to a one-year, entry-level contract, Mar. 29
  • Jack Rathbone reassigned to Abbotsford, Mar. 28
  • Max Sasson signed to a two-year, entry-level contract, Mar. 26
  • Jack Rathbone recalled under emergency conditions, Mar. 24
  • Christian Wolanin signed to a two-year contract extension, Mar. 23

THREE STARS - APRIL

  • Demko (15 pts)
  • Boeser (5 pts)
  • Garland (5 pts)
  • Hirose (5 pts)
  • Kravtsov (5 pts)
  • McWard (5 pts)

MARCH WINNER - Miller/Pettersson (25 pts)
FEBRUARY WINNER - Pettersson (15 pts)
JANUARY WINNER - Pettersson (20 pts)
DECEMBER WINNER - Pettersson (20 pts)
NOVEMBER WINNER - Horvat (40 pts)
OCTOBER WINNER - Horvat, Kuzmenko (10 pts)
*5 points are awarded for each Three Stars selection