3 major Vancouver Canucks takeaways: Pettersson growing confident, faceoff dominance continues, and more from 4-1 win over Blackhawks

By Mike Whitaker

Modified Nov 17, 2024 07:04 GMT

The Vancouver Canucks were back in action on Saturday night, bringing in the rebuilding and former rival Chicago Blackhawks to town.

The Blackhawks, led by 2023 No. 1 overall Draft selection Connor Bedard, have played mostly inconsistent hockey this season as they find themselves near the bottom of the Central Division standings. Meanwhile, the Canucks were coming off a disappointing 5-2 setback against the New York Islanders.

Eventually, the Canucks would get back into the win column, thanks to their 4-1 win over the Blackhawks at the Rogers Arena.

Chicago found the scoresheet first, thanks to former Canuck Ilya Mikheyev's second goal of the season, following the opening 20 minutes of play. Vancouver knot the score shortly into the second period, thanks to a power-play marker from Elias Pettersson, his fifth goal.

Not long after the puck dropped for the third period, Erik Brannstrom gave the Vancouver Canucks the lead for good with his second goal of the year. With the Blackhawks pressing and their net vacated for the extra attacker, Vancouver scored twice, through J.T. Miller and Teddy Blueger.

Blackhawks goaltender Arvid Soderblom performed admirably in the loss, making 29 saves. Meanwhile, Arturs Silovs picked up the win with 28 saves on 29 shots faced.

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Three key takeaways from Vancouver Canucks' win over Chicago Blackhawks

#3 Arturs Silovs can feel good about his win

The struggles of Silovs demoted him to the position of backup, behind de-facto starter Kevin Lankinen, who has mostly performed very well in his first year with the Canucks.

However, Lankinen's start on Saturday was his first since Oct. 30, and he made the most of it with several key saves to keep Chicago at bay.

#2 Vancouver's dominance in the faceoff circle continued

A dream stat for those who place value on analytics, the Vancouver Canucks dominated in the faceoff circle by winning 62.7% of the draws against the Blackhawks, giving them the jump on offensive chances.

Vancouver's overall faceoff percentage is good for seventh overall in the NHL, a trend that was on full display.

#1 Elias Pettersson continues to pick up confidence

While the start of the 2024-25 season wasn't ideal for the Swedish star forward, he has been gradually picking up his game and has five goals on the year. His tally against the Blackhawks was his fourth in six games, numbers both he and the Canucks are far more accustomed to.

The Vancouver Canucks won't have long before they hit the ice again, hosting the struggling Nashville Predators at the Rogers Arena.