canucks_df

A more aesthetically-pleasing (i.e. shots, shots, shots, shots, and goals, goals, goals goals) means some major updates to the Playoff Stats Pack compared to after the first round and the second round. Below are the updated numbers through the first three rounds of the playoffs. And of course, don't forget to read my Tale of the Tape Game Notes on the front page of Canucks.com on every game day and be sure to watch out for my Tale of the Tape Series Preview against either the Bruins or Lightning as soon as it becomes available. You can also find me on Twitter @daniel_fung or drop me a line at dfung_sports@hotmail.com. Canucks record when... Any defencemen scores: 7-3 Without Mikael Samuelsson in lineup: 6-1 Without Sami Salo in lineup: 3-1 Without Cody Hodgson in lineup: 3-3 Without Raffi Torres in lineup: 2-0 Without Andrew Alberts in lineup: 10-5 Without Keith Ballard in lineup: 5-4 Without Aaron Rome in lineup: 5-2 Without Tanner Glass in lineup: 1-1 Without Victor Oreskovich in lineup: 3-2 Without Christian Ehrhoff in lineup: 2-0 When Chris Higgins scores: 4-0 When Jannik Hansen scores: 2-0 When Daniel Sedin scores: 4-2 When Alex Edler scores: 2-0 When Christian Ehrhoff scores: 2-0 When Mikael Samuelsson scores: 1-0 When Sami Salo scores: 1-1 When Alex Burrows scores: 3-3 When Kevin Bieksa scores: 3-2 When Ryan Kesler scores: 4-1 When Henrik Sedin scores: 2-0 When Raffi Torres scores: 1-1 When Mason Raymond scores: 1-0 When Maxim Lapierre scores: 2-0 When Aaron Rome scores: 1-0 When Dan Hamhuis scores: 0-1 Scores two-or-more power play goals: 3-2 Surrender two-or-more power play goals: 2-3 Don't allow a 1st period goal: 7-1 (Only loss Game 2 NSH) Don't allow a 2nd period goal: 7-2 (Losses in Game 2 NSH & Game 3 SJS) Don't allow a 3rd period goal: 5-1 (Only loss Game 5 CHI) Have a 2-goal lead at any point in game: 6-0 Have a 3-goal lead at any point in game: 2-0 Have a 4-or-more goal lead at any point in game: 2-0 Score a goal in all three regulation periods: 3-0 Allow a goal in all three regulation periods: 0-3 Hold a third period lead: 11-2 (Losses in Game 6 CHI & Game 2 NSH) Surrender a shorthanded goal: 2-1 Don't allow a power play goal: 7-3 Score a shorthanded goal: 0-1 When getting more PP chances than opponent: 3-1 When getting fewer PP chances than opponent: 4-5 When getting equal PP chances as opponent: 5-0 Canucks list of third period goal scorers... Daniel Sedin, Kevin Bieksa, & Ryan Kesler: 3 each Chris Higgins, Henrik Sedin & Alex Burrows: 2 each Mikael Samuelsson, Aaron Rome, Mason Raymond and Dan Hamhuis: 1 each Canucks overall average...(bracketed number denotes average following Round 2) Shots on goal per game: 31.2 (31.5) Opponent shots on goal per game: 31.6 (29.2) Shot attempts blocked per game: 17.8 (17.2) Opponent shot attempts blocked per game: 14.5 (12.6) Missed shots per game: 12.4 (12) Opponent missed shots per game: 10.4 (9.8) Hits per game: 33.1 (33.5) Opponent hits per game: 28.6 (28.8) Giveaways per game: 7.2 (6.8) Opponent giveaways per game: 8.4 (7.9) Takeaways per game: 9.4 (9.5) Opponent takeaways per game: 8.2 (8.7) Blocked shots per game: 14.5 (12.6) Opponent blocked shots per game: 17.8 (17.2) Canucks average at home...(bracketed number denotes average following Round 2) Shots on goal per game: 34.1 (33) Opponent shots on goal per game: 32.1 (29.3) Shot attempts blocked per game: 19.6 (19.1) Opponent shot attempts blocked per game: 14.6 (13.4) Missed shots per game: 13.8 (12.7) Opponent missed shots per game: 10 (10) Hits per game: 37.2 (37.3) Opponent hits per game: 27.6 (25.4) Giveaways per game: 8.4 (8.6) Opponent giveaways per game: 5 (5.1) Takeaways per game: 12 (12.6) Opponent takeaways per game: 7.1 (7.1) Blocked shots per game: 14.6 (13.4) Opponent blocked shots per game: 19.6 (19.1) Canucks average on road...(bracketed number denotes average following Round 2) Shots on goal per game: 27.6 (29.7) Opponent shots on goal per game: 31 (29.2) Shot attempts blocked per game: 15.5 (14.8) Opponent shot attempts blocked per game: 14.4 (11.7) Missed shots per game: 10.8 (11.2) Opponent missed shots per game: 10.9 (9.5) Hits per game: 28 (29.2) Opponent hits per game: 29.8 (32.7) Giveaways per game: 5.8 (4.7) Opponent giveaways per game: 12.6 (11.2) Takeaways per game: 6.1 (5.8) Opponent takeaways per game: 9.6 (10.5) Blocked shots per game: 14.4 (11.7) Opponent blocked shots per game: 15.5 (14.8) HIGHS AND LOWS Canucks Most - One Period Goals: 4 - Game 2 SJS (3rd) Goals Allowed: 4 - Game 4 CHI (2nd) Shots: 16 - twice (Game 1 NSH 1st; Game 3 NSH 3rd) Shots Allowed: 17 - Game 4 SJS (3rd) Canucks Fewest - One Period Shots: 2 - Game 6 NSH (2nd) Shots Allowed: 3 - Game 6 CHI (3rd) Canucks Most - One Game Goals: 7 - Game 2 SJS Goals Allowed: 7 - Game 4 CHI Shots: 47 - Game 3 NSH Shots Allowed: 56 - Game 5 SJS Penalty Mins.: 61 - Game 4 CHI Penalty Mins, Opp.: 53 - Game 2 SJS Canucks Fewest - One Game Goals: 0 - Game 5 CHI Goals Allowed: 0 - twice Shots: 13 - Game 4 SJS Shots Allowed: 20 - Game 1 NSH Penalty Mins.: 4 (three times) - Game 2 CHI, Game 7 CHI & Game 1 SJS Penalty Mins, Opp.: 2 (twice) - Game 2 NSH & Game 5 SJS Canucks Largest - One Game Margin of victory: 4 - Game 2 SJS Margin of defeat: 5 (twice) - Game 4 CHI & Game 5 CHI Individual Most - One Game Goals: 2 (six times) - Daniel Sedin (Game 2 CHI), Alex Burrows (Game 7 CHI), Ryan Kesler (Game 3 NSH), Ryan Kesler (Game 5 NSH), Daniel Sedin (Game 2 SJS), Sami Salo (Game 4 SJS) Goals Allowed: 2 (seven times) - Ben Smith (Game 2 CHI), Patrick Sharp (Game 4 CHI), Duncan Keith (Game 5 CHI), Marian Hossa (Game 5 CHI), David Legwand (Game 5 NSH), Joel Ward (Game 5 NSH), Patrick Marleau (Game 3 SJS) Assists: 4 - Henrik Sedin (Game 4 SJS) Assists Allowed: 3 (twice) - Dave Bolland (Game 4 CHI), Joe Thornton (Game 3 SJS) Points: 4 - Henrik Sedin (Game 4 SJS) Points Allowed: 4 (twice) - Dave Bolland (Game 4 CHI), Duncan Keith (Game 5 CHI) Saves: 54 - Roberto Luongo (Game 5 SJS) Saves, Opponent: 44 - Pekka Rinne (Game 3 NSH)

Once again, for all you stats junkies, here's the Playoff Stats pack updated after the second round series against the Predators. For the stats pack after the end of Round One versus Chicago, click here. Don't forget to read my Tale of the Tape Game Notes on the front page of Canucks.com on every game day and watch out for my Tale of the Tape series preview against either the Sharks or Red Wings which will be up shortly. You can also find me on Twitter @daniel_fung or drop me a line at dfung_sports@hotmail.com. Canucks record when... Any defencemen scores: 3-2 Without Mikael Samuelsson in lineup: 2-0 Without Sami Salo in lineup: 3-1 Without Cody Hodgson in lineup: 3-2 Without Raffi Torres in lineup: 2-0 Without Andrew Alberts in lineup: 6-4 Without Keith Ballard in lineup: 3-3 Without Aaron Rome in lineup: 3-2 Without Tanner Glass in lineup: 0-1 Without Victor Oreskovich in lineup: 3-2 When Chris Higgins scores: 3-0 When Jannik Hansen scores: 2-0 When Daniel Sedin scores: 3-2 When Alex Edler scores: 2-0 When Christian Ehrhoff scores: 2-0 When Mikael Samuelsson scores: 1-0 When Sami Salo scores: 0-1 When Alex Burrows scores: 1-2 When Kevin Bieksa scores: 0-1 When Ryan Kesler scores: 2-1 When Henrik Sedin scores: 1-0 When Raffi Torres scores: 0-1 When Mason Raymond scores: 1-0 Score two-or-more power play goals: 1-1 Surrender two-or-more power play goals: 1-2 Don't allow a 1st period goal: 5-1 (only loss in Game 2 vs NSH) Don't allow a 2nd period goal: 5-1 (only loss in Game 2 vs NSH) Don't allow a 3rd period goal: 4-1 (only loss in Game 5 vs CHI) Have a 2-goal lead at any point in game: 4-0 Score a goal in all three regulation periods: 2-0 Allow a goal in all three regulation periods: 0-3 Hold a third period lead: 8-2 (only losses in Game 6 CHI & Game 2 NSH) Surrender a shorthanded goal: 2-1 Don't allow a power play goal: 6-3 When getting more power play chances than opponent: 1-1 When getting fewer power play chances than opponent: 3-4 When getting equal power play chances as opponent: 4-0 Canucks list of third period goal scorers... Daniel Sedin & Ryan Kesler: 2 each Mikael Samuelsson, Kevin Bieksa, Chris Higgins & Henrik Sedin: 1 each Canucks overall average... Shots on goal per game: 31.5 Opponent shots on goal per game: 29.2 Shot attempts blocked per game: 17.2 Opponent shot attempts blocked per game: 12.6 Missed shots per game: 12 Opponent missed shots per game: 9.8 Hits per game: 33.5 Opponent hits per game: 28.8 Giveaways per game: 6.8 Opponent giveaways per game: 7.9 Takeaways per game: 9.5 Opponent takeaways per game: 8.7 Blocked shots per game: 12.6 Opponent blocked shots per game: 17.2 Canucks average at home... Shots on goal per game: 33 Opponent shots on goal per game: 29.3 Shot attempts blocked per game: 19.1 Opponent shot attempts blocked per game: 13.4 Missed shots per game: 12.7 Opponent missed shots per game: 10 Hits per game: 37.3 Opponent hits per game: 25.4 Giveaways per game: 8.6 Opponent giveaways per game: 5.1 Takeaways per game: 12.6 Opponent takeaways per game: 7.1 Blocked shots per game: 13.4 Opponent blocked shots per game: 19.1 Canucks average on road... Shots on goal per game: 29.7 Opponent shots on goal per game: 29.2 Shot attempts blocked per game: 14.8 Opponent shot attempts blocked per game: 11.7 Missed shots per game: 11.2 Opponent missed shots per game: 9.5 Hits per game: 29.2 Opponent hits per game: 32.7 Giveaways per game: 4.7 Opponent giveaways per game: 11.2 Takeaways per game: 5.8 Opponent takeaways per game: 10.5 Blocked shots per game: 11.7 Opponent blocked shots per game: 14.8 HIGHS AND LOWS Canucks Most - One Period Goals: 2 - seven times Goals Allowed: 4 - Game 4 CHI (2nd) Shots: 16 - twice Shots Allowed: 16 - Game 3 CHI (1st) Canucks Fewest - One Period Shots: 2 - Game 6 NSH (2nd) Shots Allowed: 3 - Game 6 CHI (3rd) Canucks Most - One Game Goals: 4 - twice Goals Allowed: 7 - Game 4 CHI Shots: 47 - Game 3 NSH Shots Allowed: 46 - Game 2 NSH Penalty Mins.: 61 - Game 4 CHI Penalty Mins, Opp.: 37 - Game 4 CHI Canucks Fewest - One Game Goals: 0 - Game 5 CHI Goals Allowed: 0 - twice Shots: 19 - Game 6 NSH Shots Allowed: 20 - Game 1 NSH Penalty Mins.: 4 (twice) - Game 2 CHI & Game 7 CHI Penalty Mins, Opp.: 4 (three times) - Game 2 Chi, Game 3 CHI, Game 7 CHI Canucks Largest - One Game Margin of victory: 2 - twice Margin of defeat: 5 (twice) - Game 4 CHI & Game 5 CHI Individual Most - One Game Goals: 2 (four times) - Daniel Sedin (Game 2 CHI), Alex Burrows (Game 7 CHI), Ryan Kesler (Game 3 NSH), Ryan Kesler (Game 5 NSH) Goals Allowed: 2 (six times) - Ben Smith (Game 2 CHI), Patrick Sharp (Game 4 CHI), Duncan Keith (Game 5 CHI), & Marian Hossa (Game 5 CHI), David Legwand (Game 5 NSH), Joel Ward (Game 5 NSH) Assists: 2 (five times) - Henrik Sedin (Game 2 CHI), Christian Ehrhoff (Game 3 NSH), Christian Ehrhoff (Game 4 NSH), Ryan Kesler (Game 4 NSH), Henrik Sedin (Game 4 NSH) Assists Allowed: 3 - Dave Bolland (Game 4 CHI) Points: 3 (six times) - Daniel Sedin (Game 2 CHI), Alex Burrows (Game 6 CHI), Ryan Kesler (Game 3 NSH), Christian Ehrhoff (Game 4 NSH), Ryan Kesler (Game 4 NSH), Henrik Sedin (Game 4 NSH) Points Allowed: 4 (twice) - Dave Bolland (Game 4 CHI), Duncan Keith (Game 5 CHI) Saves: 44 - Roberto Luongo (Game 2 NSH) Saves, Opponent: 44 - Pekka Rinne (Game 3 NSH)

I got some pretty decent feedback when I posted my Stats Package at the end of the regular season so I thought I'd do it for the playoffs as well. Here's Vancouver's updated playoff statistics through the opening round. Don't forget to read my Tale of the Tape Game Notes on the front page of Canucks.com on every game day and also my Tale of the Tape Series Preview for the Canucks vs Predators. You can also find me on Twitter @daniel_fung or drop me a line at dfung_sports@hotmail.com. Canucks record when... Any defencemen scores: 2-2 Without Mikael Samuelsson in lineup: 1-0 Without Sami Salo in lineup: 1-0 Without Cody Hodgson in lineup: 2-1 Without Raffi Torres in lineup: 2-0 Without Andrew Alberts in lineup: 3-2 Without Keith Ballard in lineup: 0-2 Without Aaron Rome in lineup: 3-2 Without Tanner Glass in lineup: 0-1 Without Victor Oreskovich in lineup: 0-1 When Chris Higgins scores: 1-0 When Jannik Hansen scores: 2-0 When Daniel Sedin scores: 2-2 When Alex Edler scores: 1-0 When Christian Ehrhoff scores: 1-0 When Mikael Samuelsson scores: 1-0 When Sami Salo scores: 0-1 When Alex Burrows scores: 1-1 When Kevin Bieksa scores: 0-1 Score two-or-more power play goals: 0-1 Surrender two-or-more power play goals: 1-2 Don't allow a 1st period goal: 3-0 Don't allow a 2nd period goal: 2-0 Don't allow a 3rd period goal: 2-1 (only loss in Game 5 vs CHI) Have a 2-goal lead: 2-0 Score a goal in all three regulation periods: 1-0 Allow a goal in all three regulation periods: 0-2 Hold a third period lead: 4-1 (only loss in Game 6 @ CHI) Surrender a shorthanded goal: 1-0 Don't allow a power play goal: 3-1 When getting more power play chances than opponent: 0-0 When getting fewer power play chances than opponent: 2-3 When getting equal power play chances as opponent: 2-0 Canucks list of third period goal scorers... Daniel Sedin: 2 Mikael Samuelsson & Kevin Bieksa: 1 each Canucks overall average... Shots on goal per game: 31.1 Opponent shots on goal per game: 30.9 Shot attempts blocked per game: 16.4 Opponent shot attempts blocked per game: 10.6 Missed shots per game: 12.4 Opponent missed shots per game: 10 Hits per game: 40.1 Opponent hits per game: 29.6 Giveaways per game: 5.9 Opponent giveaways per game: 8 Takeaways per game: 9.1 Opponent takeaways per game: 9.7 Blocked shots per game: 10.6 Opponent blocked shots per game: 16.4 Canucks average at home... Shots on goal per game: 33.5 Opponent shots on goal per game: 29 Shot attempts blocked per game: 16.5 Opponent shot attempts blocked per game: 11.5 Missed shots per game: 12.3 Opponent missed shots per game: 10.3 Hits per game: 43.3 Opponent hits per game: 23 Giveaways per game: 7.8 Opponent giveaways per game: 6 Takeaways per game: 11 Opponent takeaways per game: 8 Blocked shots per game: 11.5 Opponent blocked shots per game: 16.5 Canucks average on road... Shots on goal per game: 28 Opponent shots on goal per game: 33.3 Shot attempts blocked per game: 16.3 Opponent shot attempts blocked per game: 9.3 Missed shots per game: 12.7 Opponent missed shots per game: 9.7 Hits per game: 36 Opponent hits per game: 38.3 Giveaways per game: 3.3 Opponent giveaways per game: 10.7 Takeaways per game: 6.7 Opponent takeaways per game: 12 Blocked shots per game: 9.3 Opponent blocked shots per game: 16.3 HIGHS AND LOWS Canucks Most - One Period Goals: 2 (four times) - Game 1 CHI (1st), Game 2 CHI (2nd), Game 3 CHI (2nd), Game 6 CHI (1st) Goals Allowed: 4 - Game 4 CHI (2nd) Shots: 15 (twice) - Game 5 CHI (3rd), Game 7 CHI (2nd) Shots Allowed: 16 - Game 3 CHI (1st) Canucks Fewest - One Period Shots: 6 (three times) - Game 1 CHI (1st), Game 4 CHI (2nd), Game 6 CHI (2nd) Shots Allowed: 3 - Game 6 CHI (3rd) Canucks Most - One Game Goals: 4 - Game 2 CHI Goals Allowed: 7 - Game 4 CHI Shots: 38 - Game 7 CHI Shots Allowed: 35 - Game 4 CHI Penalty Mins.: 61 - Game 4 CHI Penalty Mins, Opp.: 37 - Game 4 CHI Canucks Fewest - One Game Goals: 0 - Game 5 CHI Goals Allowed: 0 - Game 1 CHI Shots: 23 - Game 4 CHI Shots Allowed: 26 (twice) - Game 2 CHI & Game 5 CHI Penalty Mins.: 4 (twice) - Game 2 CHI & Game 7 CHI Penalty Mins, Opp.: 4 (three times) - Game 2 Chi, Game 3 CHI, Game 7 CHI Canucks Largest - One Game Margin of victory: 2 - Game 1 CHI Margin of defeat: 5 (twice) - Game 4 CHI & Game 5 CHI Individual Most - One Game Goals: 2 (twice) - Daniel Sedin (Game 2 CHI) & Alex Burrows (Game 7 CHI) Goals Allowed: 2 (four times) - Ben Smith (Game 2 CHI), Patrick Sharp (Game 4 CHI), Duncan Keith (Game 5 CHI), & Marian Hossa (Game 5 CHI) Assists: 2 - Henrik Sedin (Game 2 CHI) Assists Allowed: 3 - Dave Bolland (Game 4 CHI) Points: 3 (twice) - Daniel Sedin (Game 2 CHI), Alex Burrows (Game 6 CHI) Points Allowed: 4 (twice) - Dave Bolland (Game 4 CHI), Duncan Keith (Game 5 CHI) Saves: 32 - Roberto Luongo (Game 1 CHI) Saves, Opponent: 36 (twice) - Corey Crawford (Game 5 CHI, Game 7 CHI)

For those of you who aren't familiar with what I do, I write the Game Notes for Canucks.com (aka Tale of the Tape) which you can read every game day at canucks.com/gamenotes. Of course a big part of Tale of the Tape is statistics. Some of them are easy to find (Canucks.com and NHL.com), some I get from researching the official game notes packages sent out by the various media relations department around the league, but the majority of them are ones that I keep track of myself throughout the season. To show everyone who reads Tale of the Tape that I don't just make this stuff up, I am sharing my master list of compiled statistics throughout the year. The stats I usually try and track are ones that media relations departments don't normally provide - which explains why I'll keep track of something such as Vancouver's record when they allow two-or-more power play goals and not their record when they allow a power play goal. Of course, if there are any other stats junkie out there that finds an error with anything, please feel free to let me know at dfung_sports[at]hotmail.com. You can follow me on Twitter as well at @daniel_fung. Enjoy! Canucks record when... Any defenceman scores: 27-5-5 Christian Ehrhoff scores: 10-3-1 Daniel Sedin scores: 24-5-5 Raffi Torres scores: 9-1-0 Mason Raymond scores: 11-0-0 Mikael Samuelsson scores: 11-2-2 Ryan Kesler scores: 26-1-2 Manny Malhotra scores: 6-1-1 Jeff Tambellini scores: 8-0-1 Henrik Sedin scores: 13-2-3 Jannik Hansen scores: 7-2-0 Alex Edler scores: 4-0-3 Alex Burrows scores: 22-2-0 Tanner Glass scores: 2-1-0 Dan Hamhuis scores: 4-1-0 Kevin Bieksa scores: 5-1-0 Keith Ballard scores: 1-0-1 Alex Bolduc scores: 2-0-0 Sami Salo scores: 3-0-0 Andrew Alberts, Mario Bliznak, Aaron Volpatti, Lee Sweatt, Cody Hodgson, Maxim Lapierre, Chris Higgins, or Aaron Rome scores: 1-0-0 Alex Burrows does not play: 5-3-2 Sami Salo does not play: 33-11-9 Keith Ballard does not play: 8-7-2 Dan Hamhuis does not play: 12-5-1 Kevin Bieksa does not play: 11-5-0 Mason Raymond does not play: 9-1-2 Andrew Alberts does not play: 27-9-4 Alex Edler does not play: 22-9-0 Manny Malhotra does not play: 7-3-0 Tanner Glass does not play: 8-1-0 Mikael Samuelsson does not play: 6-1-0 Christian Ehrhoff does not play: 2-0-1 Playing on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada: 7-3-4 Playing on Rogers Sportsnet Pacific: 32-10-3 Playing on Rogers Sportsnet Vancouver Hockey: 9-4-0 Playing on TSN: 6-2-2 Score two-or-more power play goals: 17-2-4 Allow two-or-more power play goals: 2-6-2 (wins came vs ANA on Dec 8 and CGY on Apr 9) Don't allow 1st period goal: 39-8-3 Don't allow 2nd period goal: 25-4-4 Don't allow 3rd period goal: 28-6-5 Have a two-goal lead at any point in game: 41-0-0 Have a three-goal lead at any point in game: 25-0-0 Have a four-or-more goal lead at any point in game: 12-0-0 Score a goal in the 1st minute of a game: 2-1-0 (Oct 19 MIN, Nov 11 OTT, Mar 6 ANA) Score a goal in all three regulation periods: 27-0-2 Allow a goal in all three regulation periods: 2-5-1 Hold a lead at any point in the third period: 50-1-3 Surrender a shorthanded goal: 0-2-0 (Nov 17 PIT and Jan 16 MIN) Don't allow a power play goal: 37-8-3 Score a shorthanded goal: 4-0-1 (Nov 6 DET, Dec 1 CGY, Jan 22 CGY, Feb 1 DAL, Mar 25 ATL) When getting more power play chances than opponent: 17-7-2 When getting fewer power play chances than opponent: 25-7-4 When getting equal power play chances as opponent: 12-5-3 Playing the first game on a back-to-back night: 5-4-2 Playing the second game on a back-to-back night: 8-1-2 Playing an opponent that had to play the night before: 8-3-3 Canucks list of third period goal scorers... Alex Burrows & Ryan Kesler: 15 each Daniel Sedin: 12 Henrik Sedin: 9 Mason Raymond: 7 Mikael Samuelsson: 6 Raffi Torres, Jeff Tambellini, Manny Malhotra, Christian Ehrhoff: 4 each Dan Hamhuis, Alex Edler, Jannik Hansen: 3 each Chris Higgins, Kevin Bieksa, Keith Ballard: 2 each Aaron Rome, Lee Sweatt, Mario Bliznak, Tanner Glass, Peter Schaefer: 1 each Canucks overall average... Shots on goal per game: 32 Opponent shots on goal per game: 30.1 Shot attempts blocked per game: 15.3 Opponent shot attempts blocked per game: 13.1 Missed shots per game: 12.5 Opponent missed shots per game: 10.9 Hits per game: 21.7 Opponent hits per game: 22.7 Giveaways per game: 6.8 Opponent giveaways per game: 7.7 Takeaways per game: 7.3 Opponent takeaways per game: 7.2 Blocked shots per game: 13.1 Opponent blocked shots per game: 15.3 Canucks average at home... Shots on goal per game: 32.2 Opponent shots on goal per game: 30.2 Shot attempts blocked per game: 17 Opponent shot attempts blocked per game: 13.4 Missed shots per game: 12.3 Opponent missed shots per game: 10 Hits per game: 22 Opponent hits per game: 21 Giveaways per game: 6.2 Opponent giveaways per game: 4 Takeaways per game: 8.4 Opponent takeaways per game: 6 Blocked shots per game: 13.4 Opponent blocked shots per game: 17 Canucks average on road... Shots on goal per game: 31.8 Opponent shots on goal per game: 30 Shot attempts blocked per game: 13.6 Opponent shot attempts blocked per game: 12.7 Missed shots per game: 12.6 Opponent missed shots per game: 11.8 Hits per game: 21.7 Opponent hits per game: 24.4 Giveaways per game: 7.3 Opponent giveaways per game: 11.4 Takeaways per game: 6.1 Opponent takeaways per game: 8.5 Blocked shots per game: 12.7 Opponent blocked shots per game: 13.6 SEASON HIGHS AND LOWS Canucks Most - One Period Goals: 4 (twice) - Nov 11 OTT (3rd) & Dec 1 CGY (3rd) Goals Allowed: 4 - Nov 20 CHI (2nd) Shots: 23 - Nov 6 DET (3rd) Shots Allowed: 25 - Jan 20 SJS (2nd) Canucks Fewest - One Period Shots: 1 - Feb 15 MIN (3rd) Shots Allowed: 0 - Mar 31 LAK (3rd) Canucks Most - One Game Goals: 7 (three times) - Dec 1 CGY, Dec 23 CBJ, Jan 24 DAL Goals Allowed: 7 - Nov 20 CHI Shots: 51 - Jan 11 NYI Shots Allowed: 48 - Mar 10 SJS Penalty Minutes: 34 - Apr 5 EDM Penalty Minutes Opp: 36 - Dec 1 CGY Canucks Fewest - One Game Goals: 0 (five times) - Nov 9 MTL, Jan 13 NYR, Jan 16 MIN, Mar 3 NSH, Apr 5 EDM Goals Allowed: 0 (five times) - Nov 1 NJD, Dec 3 CHI, Feb 2 DAL, Mar 6 ANA, Apr 7 MIN Shots: 14 - Feb 15 MIN Shots Allowed: 12 - Dec 12 EDM Penalty Minutes: 2 (twice) - Nov 26 SJS, Mar 16 COL Penalty Minutes: 0 (twice) - Oct 11 FLA, Nov 21 PHX Canucks Largest - One Game Margin of victory: 6 (twice) - Jan 24 DAL, Feb 2 PHX Margin of defeat: 6 - Nov 20 CHI Individual Most - One Game Goals: 3 (five times) - Raffi Torres, Mason Raymond, Ryan Kesler x3 Goals allowed: 2 (seven times) - Dustin Brown (LAK), Niklas Kronwall (DET), Fernando Pisani (CHI), Taylor Pyatt (PHX), Henrik Zetterberg (DET), David Jones (COL), Bobby Ryan (ANA) Assists: 3 (10 times) - Kevin Bieksa, Ryan Kesler, Daniel Sedin, Christian Ehrhoff, Mason Raymond x2, Henrik Sedin x4 Assists allowed: 3 (three times) - Ryan Getzlaf (ANA), Marian Hossa (CHI), Brian Rafalski (DET) Points: 4 (twice) - Mason Raymond (Dec 1 CGY) & Henrik Sedin (Dec 23 CBJ) Points Allowed: 4 - Ryan Getzlaf (Oct 13 ANA) Saves: 45 - Roberto Luongo (Jan 20 SJS) Saves, Opponent: Kevin Poulin (Jan 11 NYI)

It's been a while since I've blogged in this space. Hope I still remember how. Thought I'd share my thoughts on what I think the All-Star Game format should be. <img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/05/may0310_hawks19_t.jpg" class="imageFloatLeftFramed">So the NHL is changing their All-Star Game format to let captains pick out their teams. I like it. It's novel, it's unique, and as far as I know no other league has tried it before. But what I'd really like to see is for the NHL to go back to the day when it used to be the Stanley Cup Champions taking on a group of All-Stars. <img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/05/van_chi_050710_salo_t.jpg" class="imageFloatRightFramed">Now at this point you may ask what the appeal of watching the Blackhawks, to use this year as an example, play in a meaningless contest when you have 82 other games with something on the line to choose from. Well, for one thing, the Blackhawks wouldn't be the same watered down version of the team that is on the ice this season. I'm talking about using the actual Cup winning team, which would mean seeing the likes of Kris Versteeg, Dustin Byfuglien and Brent Sopel, to name a few, reunite with their old club for one night only. <img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/05/051110_CHI_VAN_205j.jpg" class="imageFloatLeftFramed">In an era now where teams inevitably will break up because of the salary cap, seeing the old gang back together for one night would make for an interesting spectacle even if there's nothing on the line in the game itself. The champions could even tie-in their ring presentation ceremony on that same weekend so the whole team can be together for the occasion instead of having certain players randomly receive their rings at different points int he season. Having a ring presentation ceremony might even draw some extra media attention from the folks already covering the All-Star festivities. <img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/05/051110_CHI_VAN_205a.jpg" class="imageFloatRightFramed">I'm even in favor of a bit of revisionist history if there's a case where they just can't get a guy back because he's injured, playing in another league, or retired (although I think the fans would get a kick out of seeing a retired player - if he's high profile enough - return for one game). Replacement players could be voted in by the fans out of the pool of players (outside of the champions) that are taking part in the game. How would Alex Ovechkin look streaking down the left side on a line with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane? Or how much would Canucks fans cringe to see Henrik Sedin centering a unit with Marian Hossa on his left and Patrick Sharp on his right? This idea isn't perfect by any stretch. It may be a tough sell if, god forbid, it were the Florida Panthers or the Phoenix Coyotes versus the NHL All-Stars. But hey, it's a thought and it can't be that much worse than what's been done before.

Two of the most dynamic offensive superstars in the National Hockey League. Two young, All-Star defencemen patrolling the blue-line. A relatively unknown starting netminder but one who has shown an ability to stand on his head from time to time. A coach who is considered one of the best hockey minds in the League. All together on a team that just a few short years ago was immersed in a period best described as the franchise's Dark Age. <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/bc/images/images/inbydate05/dec2105/canada_t.jpg class="imageFloatLeftFramed">Sound familiar? The 2010 Stanley Cup Champions Chicago Blackhawks? Perhaps, but no. Rather, the description is of a team much nearer and dearer to the hearts of hockey fans in British Columbia: the 2002-03 Vancouver Canucks. A team captained by then four-time NHL All-Star Markus Naslund, who by season's end would become a two-time First Team All-Star and the recipient of the Lester B. Pearson Award. A team that featured a dominant power forward in Todd Bertuzzi, who posted a career-best 97 points during that year's regular season and would join his best friend Naslund as a First Team All-Star at the end of the 2003 season. A team that had two former first round picks on their back end in Mattias Ohlund and Ed Jovanovski, the latter a Canadian Olympic Gold medalist. A team whose number one goaltender, Dan Cloutier, was coming off a career-high 33 wins in the regular season and beginning to build a reputation as bona fide starting netminder. A team led by former Jack Adams Award and Stanley Cup winner Marc Crawford, who would go on to become the franchise's all-time wins leader behind the bench. A team that had missed the post-season for four consecutive seasons from 1996-97 to 1999-00 and saw attendance figures plummet to a franchise low in their new home of General Motors Place in 1990-00 but by 2002-03 would be playing to near sell-out crowds every night. A team that featured arguably the most talented group ever assembled under the Vancouver Canucks banner and would surely deliver the Stanley Cup to the city of Vancouver. A team that had the third-year Minnesota Wild on the ropes in their 2003 Western Conference Semi-Final series - leading the series three games to one at one point and later holding a 2-0 lead in Game 7 - and was ready to make flight plans to Anaheim for the Western Conference Final against the Mighty Ducks. <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/bc/images/images/inbydate05/dec0705/nazzy_t.jpg class="imageFloatRightFramed">A championship team... ...that never came to be. A team torn apart by a violent, on-ice incident the following year that would scar both city and sport and a team that would be only a shell of its former self when the NHL reinvented itself in time for the 2005-06 season. A team that would eventually see three of its members going on to kiss the Stanley Cup - Brad May, Matt Cooke and Brent Sopel - but none of them together and none of them in Vancouver. A team that, though now mostly disbanded, undoubtedly watched on Wednesday as the Stanley Cup was paraded around the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia by the Blackhawks and had just one thought flowing through their collective minds: There, but for the bounce of a puck, goes us.

A win in Game 5 at the United Center keeps the Canucks' hopes of re-writing history alive as their quest to avoid having a similar fate this year against the Blackhawks as they did in 2009 continues for at least one more game. And since this year's theme for the playoffs is History Will Be Made, Number Crunching explores some of that history that has already been re-written so far in the 2010 playoffs for the Canucks. SPEED KILLS <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/05/may0510_flying_t.jpg class="imageFloatLeftFramed">To say the Canucks' start to Game 4 on Friday was their worst ever start in a playoff game is no exaggeration. Brent Seabrook's goal just 18 seconds into Game 4 set a new record by a Canucks' opponent for fastest goal to start a playoff game. The previous fastest goal to start a playoff game by a Canucks' opponent came from Jeff Halpern of the Dallas Stars back on April 13, 2007. Halpern scored 24 seconds into Game 2 of the Stars' Quarter-Final series against the Canucks that year. Seabrook's tally, however, was nowhere close to the all-time Blackhawks record for fastest goal to start a playoff game. That record belonged to forward Ken Wharram who set the mark way back on April 13, 1967 with a goal nine seconds into a playoff contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The NHL's all-time record for fastest goal from the start of a playoff game belongs to Don Kozak of the Los Angeles Kings who tallied six seconds into a contest against the Boston Bruins on April 17, 1977. OVERPOWERED <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/05/may0910_hawks08_t.jpg class="imageFloatRightFramed">The four power play goals surrendered by the Canucks in Game 4 on Friday not only was a high for the Canucks in the 2010 post-season, it established a new dubious franchise record for most power play goals against in a single playoff game. Vancouver's previous record for most power play goals surrendered in a single playoff game was three - something they had fallen victim to eight previous times most recently in Game 3 of their opening round series against the Kings. Three of the Blackhawks' power play goals on Friday came off the stick of Jonathan Toews, who incidentally tied an NHL record for most power play goals in a single game. Toews became just the 11th different NHL player (12th time overall) to score three power play goals in a single NHL playoff game. The record was initially set by Red Wings' forward Syd Howe (no relation to Gordie) on March 23, 1939 in a game against the Montreal Canadiens. The most recent player to accomplish the feat prior to Toews was Valeri Kamensky of the Colorado Avalanche. Kamensky notched the feat, coincidentally, in a 7-0 win on April 24, 1997 over the Chicago Blackhawks. The other players who have tallied three power play goals in one playoff contest are: Sid Smith (DET), Phil Esposito (BOS), John Bucyk (BOS), Denis Potvin (NYI), Tim Kerr (PHI), Jari Kurri (EDM), Mark Johnson (NJD), and Dino Ciccarelli (x2, DET). FIRST-MINUTEMEN <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/05/may0910_hawks10_t.jpg class="imageFloatLeftFramed">Goals coming in the opening minute of a game involving the Canucks were a rarity during the regular season so it was a bit unusual to see it happen this week in back-to-back games. During the 2009.10 regular season, the Canucks were involved in just five games where a goal had been scored in the opening minute. While it may seem like a huge advantage to have a lead less than one minute into a game, it didn't quite work out that way in the regular season at least as far as games involving the Canucks were concerned. Teams that scored one minute or less into a regular season contest involving Vancouver this season won just two of the five games where it occurred although in the playoffs they are a perfect 2-0. The following is a list of the first minute scorers in games involving Vancouver this season: October 27 vs DET - Henrik Sedin @ 0:30 - 5-4 Red Wings November 10 @ STL - Andy McDonald @ 0:18 - 6-1 Blues January 30 @ TOR - Phil Kessel @ 0:52 - 5-3 Canucks February 12 @ CBJ - Rick Nash @ 0:22 - 4-3 Canucks March 30 vs PHX - Alex Burrows @ 0:37 - 4-1 Canucks *May 7 vs CHI (Game 4) - Brent Seabrook @ 0:18 - 7-4 Blackhawks *May 9 @ Chi (Game 5) - Christian Ehrhoff @ 0:59 - 4-1 Canucks *Denotes playoff game. A MESSAGE TO THE BOYS FOR GAME 6 Statistics and other information appearing in this blog are for entertainment purposes only and a sense of humour is recommended when reading. E-mail the author here or follow him on Twitter.

With just one Canucks playoff game to dissect this week, Number Crunching takes a page out of the playbook of our road warriors and gives Game 1 the full court press with the best stats from the Round 2 series opener. And because we're just so darned nice out here on the West Coast, we decide to give a shout out to a long-lost friend who just couldn't be here with us. BALANCING ACT <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/05/may0110_hawks24_t.jpg class="imageFloatLeftFramed">By combining on Vancouver's fifth and final goal of Game 1 against the Blackhawks, Michael Grabner and Rick Rypien became the 17th and 18th players, respectively, to tally a point during the 2010 playoff run for the Canucks - giving the Canucks the same number of players with a point they had in their entire 2009 playoff run. Through all Game 1's played in second round (i.e. excluding games played on Sunday), Vancouver not only leads all currently active playoff teams in goals with 30 (tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins) but their 18 players with a point also leads all teams still in the post-season. The Sharks and the Canadiens are right behind the Canucks with 17 players each with a point so far in the 2010 post-season, while the Blackhawks bring up the rear with just 14 players to have recorded a point. The Canucks also saw Kyle Wellwood and Michael Grabner become the 13th and 14th players, respectively, to tally a goal for them in this year's playoffs - giving them the lead among all active playoff teams in that category as well. The Red Wings and Penguins have the next highest total with 13 goal scorers each while the Flyers have the fewest among teams still alive with only eight different goal scorers. Last season, the 2009 Stanley Cup Champions Pittsburgh Penguins finished the playoffs with 16 different goal scorers and 20 different skaters who recorded at least one point. PLAYING KEEP-AWAY <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/05/may0110_hawks09_t.jpg class="imageFloatRightFramed">A big reason the Canucks managed to keep the Blackhawks' potent offense largely in check during Game 1 was because of their puck control. The Canucks committed just four giveaways in Saturday's contest - the fewest so far for them in the 2010 post-season. The low number of giveaways was actually a trend for the Canucks during the regular season at the United Center as well. In their two regular season contests played in Chicago, the Canucks combined for just five total giveaways. Vancouver's record during the regular season when they committed five-or-fewer giveaways in a game was 19-8-2. During their first round series against the Kings, the Canucks committed an average of 10.7 giveaways per game - the most being 16 (Game 6) and the least being seven (Game 5). ONE AND DONE <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/05/may0110_hawks08_t.jpg class="imageFloatLeftFramed">Roberto Luongo had one streak entering Game 1 on Saturday that he was more than happy to see come to an end. Luongo gave up just a single goal to the Blackhawks in the series opener snapping a streak of 10 consecutive games where he had given up multiple goals-per-game dating back to April 1 in the regular season. The streak of 10 games where he had personally given up two-or-more goals was the third longest single season streak for the netminder since he joined the Canucks in the 2006.07 season. Luongo's longest streak as a Canuck where he gave up multiple goals each game was 14 games from January 15, 2009 to February 24, 2009. Followers of the Canucks will remember that span took place upon Luongo's return from missing 24 games with a groin injury. His second longest streak was 11 games from January 8, 2008 to February 5, 2008. Luongo's longest streak of multiple goal games surrendered during the 2009.10 regular season was six games. He suffered through two such streaks during the regular campaign - first from January 9 to January 21 and again from January 25 to February 9. ON THIS DAY IN STANLEY CUP HISTORY (MAY 2) <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/01/205x115_3_13010.jpg class="imageFloatRightFramed">Number Crunching is a fully fledged member of Canucks Nation but that doesn't mean we don't welcome fans from across the NHL to read this blog. Today, we offer this little shout out to any Number Crunching fans reading this from Toronto. We know your beloved blue-and-white was not invited to this year's playoff party (your invitation must have been accidentally sent to Boston) but here's something that will turn that frown upside down: 1967: With the oldest lineup in Final history, the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-1 in Game Six to win the 1967 Stanley Cup. The Leafs' roster included 42-year-old goalie Johnny Bower and 41-year-old defenseman Allan Stanley as well as seven others at least 30 years old. Toronto center Red Kelly played his 65th game in Final competition, setting a Stanley Cup record later tied by Montreal's Henri Richard. (Courtesy of Total Stanley Cup - NHL 2010 Playoff Media Guide) Statistics and other information appearing in this blog are for entertainment purposes only and a sense of humour is recommended when reading. E-mail the author here or follow him on Twitter.

We're doing the happy dance at Number Crunching this week after the Canucks completed a successful 4-2 first round series victory over the Los Angeles Kings but before we talk about Vancouver's next dance partner, we take a look back at the best numbers from round one in the Canucks/Kings series and in the NHL. NO EARLY BIRD SPECIAL <img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/04/apr2310_quick_t.jpg" class="imageFloatLeftFramed">Conventional wisdom and statistics suggest that teams scoring the first goal in a game will win more often than not but if the Canucks/Kings series was any indication, then perhaps scoring the opening goal isn't all that it's cracked up to be. In the six-game series between the Canucks and Kings, the team scoring first accounted for just one victory - that was Vancouver's 7-2 win in Game 5 at GM Place - while the team trailing first won five of the six games. It certainly isn't a statistic backed up by the rest of the teams so far in the playoffs. Through playoff games played on Sunday in the first round, if you take out games from the Canucks/Kings series, teams that trail first in a game have a record of only 14-24 (19-25 if you add the Canucks/Kings series results). The Canucks are a perfect 3-0 when trailing first in a game and are tied atop that category in wins with the Boston Bruins (3-2) through Sunday. While it's not a statistic the Canucks will want to tempt fate with in the next series, it should be noted that last year the Pittsburgh Penguins led all playoff teams with six victories (6-4) when trailing first and they went on to capture the Stanley Cup. SHORT-COMINGS <img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/04/apr2510_kings07_t.jpg" class="imageFloatRightFramed">The Canucks set or equaled plenty of positive team records during their first round series against the Kings but one they'd like to forget about is the number of goals surrendered on the penalty kill. The 10 goals surrendered by Vancouver's PK not only leads all playoffs teams through Sunday's games but equaled a record for most power play goals surrendered by the Canucks in a single playoff series. That mark was initially set back in 1989 in Vancouver's Division Semi-Final series against the Calgary Flames. The Canucks are now already half way to the franchise mark for most power play goals ever surrendered in an entire playoff season. That mark of 20 was set back in 1994 during the Canucks run to the Stanley Cup. During the 2009 playoffs, Vancouver surrendered just a total of nine power play goals in 10 playoff games played. PREVENTION IS KEY <img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/04/apr2110_kings16_t.jpg" class="imageFloatLeftFramed">Observers of the Canucks/Kings series might note that Roberto Luongo was not as big a reason the Canucks won the series as perhaps in other playoff series in the past but that may have had more to do with the fact his team was much better this year at preventing the number of shots he faced. The Canucks surrendered 166 shots in six games to the Kings during their first round playoff series, an average of 27.7 shots per game. That total is the fewest average number of shots per game in a playoff series since Roberto Luongo joined the Canucks. The following is a breakdown of the average shots against in each playoff series the Canucks have played in since Luongo joined the team. Note, however, that some of the numbers may be skewed because of lengthy overtime games in certain series. 2010 WQF vs Los Angeles: 166 shots against in six games - 27.7 average shots against per game 2009 WSF vs Chicago: 175 shots against in six games - 29.2 average shots against per game 2009 WQF vs St. Louis: 131 shots against in four games - 32.8 average shots against per game 2007 WSF vs Anaheim: 198 shots against in five games - 39.6 average shots against per game 2007 WQF vs Dallas: 240 shots against in seven games - 34.3 average shots against per game NUMBER CRUNCHING PLAYOFF PERFORMER OF ROUND ONE <img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/04/apr1510_happy_t.jpg" class="imageFloatRightFramed">Mikael Samuelsson: Seven goals and 11 points in six games played. What more is there to say about Mikael Samuelsson that hasn't already been said? Samuelsson was Mr. Fantastic and Mr. Consistency in round one for the Canucks and came just shy of setting several new individual player records as a Canuck in the process. He tied Pavel Bure's record for most goals in a single playoff series with seven (set back in 1995 vs St. Louis) and his consecutive streak of goals in five straight games from Game 1 to 5 tied for the longest playoff goal streak in Canucks history initially set by Cliff Ronning in 1991. Samuelsson finished one point shy of a team record for most points in a single playoff series (record is 12 by Pavel Bure in 1995 vs St. Louis) and his 28 shots in the series were just two shy of Bure's record for most shots in a single playoff series (record is 30 by Pavel Bure in 1995 vs St. Louis). (Note: The 1995 playoff series versus St. Louis where Bure set those team records took seven games to complete). Samuelsson's 11 points and counting is already one point more than any Canucks player had all of last year in the playoffs. Henrik and Daniel Sedin shared the team lead in playoff points in 2009 with 10 each. PLAYOFFS SUPER STATS PACK (UPDATED THROUGH ROUND ONE) Spewing statistics can make anybody sound smart (I wouldn't write this blog if it didn't!). As a gift to Number Crunching's loyal fans (yes, all three of you out there) here are some stats you can share with your friends to make you sound like an expert too: The Canucks' record when... <img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/04/apr2310_edler_t.jpg" class="imageFloatLeftFramed">A defenceman scores: 3-0 Mikael Samuelsson scores: 3-2 Daniel Sedin scores: 3-1 Pavol Demitra scores: 2-0 Steve Bernier scores: 2-1 They score two-or-more power play goals: 1-0 They surrender two-or-more power play goals: 2-2 They don’t allow a 1st period goal: 1-1 They don’t allow a 3rd period goal: 2-1 Don’t allow a power play goal: 1-0 When getting more power play chances than opponent: 2-1 When getting fewer power play chances than opponent: 1-1 When getting equal power play chances than opponent: 1-0 Highs and Lows... <img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/04/apr2510_kings13_t.jpg" class="imageFloatRightFramed">Canucks Most - One Period Goals: 4 (APR.21.10 at LAK, third period) Goals allowed: 3 (APR.19.10 at LAK, second period) Shots: 17 (twice - most recent APR.21.10 at LAK, third period) Shots Allowed: 16 (APR.25.10 at LAK, first period) Canucks Fewest - One Period Shots: 4 (APR.17.10 vs LAK, first period) Shots Allowed: 2 (APR.15.10 vs LAK, third period) Canucks Most - One Game Goals: 7 (APR.23.10 vs LAK) Goals Allowed: 5 (APR.19.10 at LAK) Shots: 44 (APR.15.10 vs LAK) Shots Allowed: 32 (APR.25.10 at LAK) Penalty Minutes: 22 (APR.23.10 vs LAK) Penalty Minutes Opp: APR.23.10 vs LAK) Canucks Fewest - One Game Goals: 2 (APR.17.10 vs LAK) Goals Allowed: 2 (three times - most recent APR.25.10 at LAK) Shots: 22 (APR.25.10 at LAK) Shots Allowed: 26 (twice - most recent APR.23.10 vs LAK) Penalty Minutes: 6 (APR.19.10 at LAK) Penalty Minutes Opp: 6 (APR.25.10 at LAK) Canucks Largest - One Game Margin of victory: 5 (APR.23.10 vs LAK. 7-2) Margin of defeat: 2 (APR.19.10 at LAK, 3-5) <img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/04/apr2310_ryp_t.jpg" class="imageFloatLeftFramed">Individual Most - One Game Goals: 2 (three times - Mikael Samuelsson 2x, Steve Bernier) Goals Allowed: 2 (Michal Handzus - APR.19.10 at LAK) Assists: 3 (Daniel Sedin - APR.21.10 at LAK) Assists Allowed: 3 (twice - Jack Johnson, Drew Doughty) Points: 3 (three times - Daniel Sedin, Mikael Samuelsson, Pavol Demitra) Points Allowed: 4 (Drew Doughty - APR.19.10 at LAK) Saves: 30 (Roberto Luongo - APR.25.10 at LAK) Saves, Opp.: 41 (Jonathan Quick - APR.15.10 vs LAK)

This week's inaugural playoff edition of Number Crunching explores the statistical oddities from the first week of action in the NHL post-season and looks into the wacky tacky officiating from the first two games of the Canucks/Kings series that leads us to wonder out loud if in fact the NHL really does have a bias against the Canucks. FLYING SAUCERS? OR JUST ZEBRAS ON THE SAUCE? <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/04/apr1710_lui2_t.jpg class="imageFloatLeftFramed">Now, we're not saying there's some sort of conspiracy theory going on with the officiating in the Canucks/Kings first round series...oh wait, actually that's precisely what we're saying and we've got the numbers to back it up. Through the first two games of every 2010 playoff series (with the exception of the Nashville/Chicago series that had played just one game as of this writing on Sunday morning), the Canucks lead the League when it comes to penalty minutes with 31 in two games - an average of 16.5 per game. That's three more penalty minutes per game higher than the next highest penalized teams in the NHL playoffs - the Buffalo Sabres and the Boston Bruins who are tied for second place with an average of 13.0 penalty minutes per game. The Kings, meanwhile, have the second lowest average penalty minutes per game at just 9.0 - one minute on average more than the San Jose Sharks who bring up the rear after two games played with 8.0 penalty minutes per game. The Canucks/Kings series, through two games played, also has the highest differential in average penalty minute accessed to the two teams. Below is a breakdown of the penalty minute discrepancy in each series (minus the NSH/CHI series) after the first two games: MTL (9.5) vs WSH (9.5) = 0.0 BOS (13.0) vs BUF (13.0) = 0.0 DET (9.0) vs PHX (10.0) = 1.0 OTT (11.5) vs PIT (9.5) = 2.0 COL (11.0) vs SJS (8.0) = 3.0 PHI (10.0) vs NJD (13.0) = 3.0 LAK (9.0) vs VAN (16.5) = 7.5 *Bracketed numbers indicate respective team's average penalty minute per game through two games played Gary and Colin, Canucks Nation awaits your rebuttal. OH CANADA <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/04/apr1510_smythlui_t.jpg class="imageFloatRightFramed">With the Senators, Canadiens and Canucks all winning their opening playoff games this season, it marked the first time since the 1998 playoffs that every Canadian team in the post-season all won their opening playoff games. That year all three Canadian entrants - the Senators, Canadiens, and Oilers - entered the post-season as heavy underdogs (the Senators were an eighth seed in the East while the Canadiens and Oilers were seventh seeds in their respective conferences) but all managed to pull off Game 1 upsets in a manor resembling how this year's playoffs began for the Canadian teams. All three of those respective 1998 opening games involving Canadian teams were decided by one goal (just like this year) and two of the three contests were decided by overtime (also just like this year). The Senators knocked off the Devils 2-1 in overtime, the Canadiens knocked off the Penguins 3-2 in overtime, and the Oilers took a 3-2 regulation victory over the Avalanche. And how's this for an omen? That year, all three Canadian teams managed to win their series and advance to the second round. In fact, 1998 is the last time that all Canadian entrants in the playoffs managed to advance to Round 2. Unfortunately, all three would meet their demise by the second round that post-season. OPENING NIGHT OVERTIME CURSE? <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/04/apr1510_obburr_t.jpg class="imageFloatLeftFramed">For the superstitious types, you may want to ignore this entry. Thursday marked the 13th time in Canucks team history that they have opened a playoff series with an overtime game. Historically, the Canucks haven't fared well in playoff series that have opened with a game requiring extra time. Win or lose in that first game, Vancouver's all-time record in series where Game 1 has gone to overtime is just 3-9. The numbers aren't much better even if the Canucks open the series with an overtime victory in Game 1 although it is slightly less troubling than what the aforementioned overall mark is. The Canucks are 2-4 in series when they win Game 1 in overtime. The last time the Canucks opened a series with an overtime game was back in 2007 with that memorable quadruple overtime game against the Dallas Stars. The Canucks prevailed 5-4 that night thanks to a 72-save effort by Roberto Luongo who was making his NHL playoff debut. The Canucks would go on to win the series four games to three. NUMBER CRUNCHING PLAYOFF PERFORMER OF THE WEEK <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/04/apr1510_happy_t.jpg class="imageFloatRightFramed">Mikael Samuelsson: Three goals in two games played. The Canucks brought in Mikael Samuelsson to be a key performer come playoff time and he certainly has lived up to that billing in the first two games of the series. Samuelsson scored twice on opening night, including the overtime winner in Game 1, and added his third goal of these young playoffs in Game 2 in a losing effort. Samuelsson's three goals is already more than halfway to his entire goal output from the 2009 playoffs when he recorded five goals in 23 games in the Red Wings Stanley Cup run that ended with a Game 7 loss to Pittsburgh Penguins in the Finals. Samuelsson is also halfway to establishing a new personal points record in a single series. His previous high was six points (0-6-6) set during the 2007 Western Conference Final against the Anaheim Ducks. Statistics and other information appearing in this blog are for entertainment purposes only and a sense of humour is recommended when reading. E-mail the author here or follow him on Twitter.

Throughout the Canucks' first round series versus the Kings, your truly will be sharing some news and tidbits regarding the Kings courtesy of Los Angeles Kings Examiner Jonathan Moncrief. Moncrief is an accredited reporter who follows the Kings and provides feature stories, game summaries and opinion pieces on his site. He also serves as a Featured Contributor on the fan-interactive portion of the LAKings.com website called "Hockeywood, L.A." and is the sports radio talk show host on the Sports Journey Broadcast Network. Here is Moncrief's latest lineup update following Kings practice on Tuesday: Terry Murray moved Brad Richardson up from 4th line center to 3rd line right wing, joining Wayne Simmonds and Michal Handzus. He also had Raitis Ivanans skating on the 4th line with Fredrik Modin (down from the 3rd line) and Jeff Halpern. Right now, [Murray] looks like he wants a little more speed with Simmonds and Handzus, and likes the grit and size of the 4th line. About the projected 4th line, [Murray] said: "We know [Vancouver is] a pretty gritty hockey club. They've got some heavyweights. They have a team that plays pretty hard, and Raitis is a player who - I don't know about neutralize it - he can respond to those situations that are coming our way. He's well-respected. He has his presence established around the league. Everybody knows what his role is on the hockey club." The Kings practiced again in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning before boarding a 1 p.m. flight for Vancouver. Read Moncrief's preview of the Canucks/Kings series here. And of course, read the Canucks.com Tale of the Tape Series Preview written by yours truly here.

@D-Money It doesn't, not really anyways. You're right. I was just playing devil's advocate with myself. Though the point I tried to make was that Art Ross Trophy winners had not won Stanley Cups in consecutive seasons since 1984 and 1985. It just so happened Gretzky was the same person both of those years. Of course, last year Malkin won the Art Ross and went on to win the Cup so if the Canucks were to win the Cup this season, it would be the first time in 25 years that the Art Ross Trophy winner had won consecutive Stanley Cups. Thanks to all of you for reading and leaving comments!

It's celebration week for Number Crunching as we, along with the rest of Canucks Nation, congratulate Henrik Sedin for becoming the first ever Vancouver Canuck to capture the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading point scorer. In honour of Henrik's achievement, we crunch the numbers on some Art Ross history and make a case for why Hank is better than Sid and Ovie. And as a wrap-up to the regular season, we present the Number Crunching Super Stats Pack. TODAY THE ART ROSS, TOMORROW THE WORLD? <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/04/apr1010_twins_t.jpg class="imageFloatLeftFramed">Henrik Sedin became the first Canucks player to capture an Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer with his 112-point season (29-83-112) but his greatest challenge is yet to come as he looks to be just the 11th Art Ross Trophy winner in the last 39 NHL seasons to lead his team to a Stanley Cup victory. Since the Canucks' inaugural season in 1970.71, the Art Ross Trophy winner has advanced to 12 different Stanley Cup Finals while winning it 10 times. Working against Henrik, as far as history goes, will be the fact that an Art Ross Trophy winner has not won back-to-back Stanley Cups since 1984 and 1985 when Wayne Gretzky captured the award in both seasons while also winning the Stanley Cup with the Edmonton Oilers both years. Last season, Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin captured the Art Ross Trophy and went on to win the Stanley Cup with the Penguins. Below is a complete list of Art Ross Trophy winners that have gone on to win the Stanley Cup since the 1970.71 season: 1972 - Phil Esposito - Boston Bruins 1976 - Guy Lafleur - Montreal Canadiens 1977 - Guy Lafleur - Montreal Canadiens 1978 - Guy Lafleur - Montreal Canadiens 1984 - Wayne Gretzky - Edmonton Oilers 1985 - Wayne Gretzky - Edmonton Oilers 1987 - Wayne Gretzky - Edmonton Oilers 1992 - Mario Lemieux - Pittsburgh Penguins 2004 - Martin St. Louis - Tampa Bay Lightning 2009 - Evgeni Malkin - Pittsburgh Penguins The other two Art Ross Trophy winners that appeared in the Stanley Cup Final the same season but did not win the ultimate prize were: 1974 - Phil Esposito - Boston Bruins (lost to Philadelphia Flyers) 1983 - Wayne Gretzky - Edmonton Oilers (lost to New York Islanders) NO TIME TO SPARE <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/04/apr1010_ehrhoff_t.jpg class="imageFloatRightFramed">While some critics during the race for the Art Ross Trophy have pointed out that both Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin played fewer games than Henrik Sedin, one thing that no one can dispute is that Henrik has gotten more accomplished while getting much less average ice-time per game. Henrik finished the season averaging 19:41 of ice-time - over two full minutes fewer on average per game compared to Sidney Crosby (21:57) and Alex Ovechkin (21:47). In fact, out of the top-10 leading scorers in the NHL, only Chicago's Patrick Kane had a less ice-time on average (Kane finished the season with 88 points in 82 games). Henrik is the first player since Peter Forsberg in 2002.03 to capture the Art Ross Trophy despite having fewer than 20-minutes of average ice-time per game. That season, Forsberg finished with an average per-game ice-time of 19:19 - the lowest average ice-time out of the top-13 scorers that season. On an interesting side note, former Canucks' captain Markus Naslund - who finished second to Forsberg in that year's race for the Art Ross Trophy - had an average ice-time of 19:54. As far as how Henrik measures up in points versus total ice-time over the season compared to Sid and Ovie, Henrik finished the season averaging one point for every 14.414 minutes of ice-time. He finished well-ahead of Crosby in that category (one point for every 16.315 minutes) and was only slightly edged out by Ovechkin (one point for every 14.398 minutes of ice-time) ON A HIGH NOTE <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/04/apr1010_puckup_t.jpg class="imageFloatLeftFramed">For just the third time in team history, the Canucks ended their regular season tallying seven-plus goals in their final contest. Vancouver's 7-3 win over the Flames on Saturday night was the most goals they have scored in a regular season finale since they lit up the Los Angeles Kings for eight goals back on April 15, 1993 - an 8-6 win at The Forum. That season, the Canucks finished in first place in the Smythe Division and knocked off the Winnipeg Jets (4-2) in their first round playoff series before falling in their second round series to those same Kings (2-4). The first and only other time the Canucks tallied seven-or-more goals in their regular finale was back on April 4, 1982 which also came against the Kings - a 7-4 at the Pacific Coliseum. That 1982 Canucks team, which finished second place in the Smythe Division, went on to become the first Canucks team to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals knocking off the Flames (3-0), Kings (4-1) and Blackhawks (4-1) before eventually falling to the New York Islanders (0-4). NUMBER CRUNCHING SUPER STATS PACK Number Crunching took the liberty of compiling some interesting statistics throughout the 2009.10 season. Here's a look at some of the best numbers from the regular season: <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/04/apr0810_sharks04_t.jpg class="imageFloatLeftFramed">The Canucks' record when... A defenceman scores: 24-5-2 Daniel Sedin scores: 17-3-3 Henrik Sedin scores: 19-4-1 Mikael Samuelsson scores: 18-5-3 Alex Burrows scores: 22-7-0 Ryan Kesler scores: 18-6-0 Mason Raymond scores: 14-5-1 Jannik Hansen scores: 7-2-0 Kyle Wellwood scores: 7-4-2 Sami Salo scores: 9-0-0 Alex Edler scores: 5-0-0 Sami Salo is not in the lineup: 9-4-1 Kevin Bieksa is not in the lineup: 18-7-2 Willie Mitchell is not in the lineup: 21-9-2 Mikael Samuelsson is not in the lineup: 4-3-1 <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/04/apr0610_grabs_t.jpg class="imageFloatRightFramed">They score two-or-more power play goals: 13-4-0 They surrender two-or-more power play goals: 4-9-0 They don't allow a 1st period goal: 22-4-2 They don't allow a 3rd period goal: 32-5-4 Score a short-handed goal: 9-0-0 Surrender a short-handed goal: 1-4-1 Don't allow a power play goal: 30-5-4 When getting more power play chances than opponent: 27-12-1 When getting fewer power play chances than opponent: 19-13-1 When getting equal power play chances as opponent: 3-3-3 They play on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada: 11-2-2 They play on Rogers Sportsnet: 22-21-1 They play on TSN: 8-1-1 They play on Canucks TV Pay-Per-View: 8-3-1 Highs and Lows... <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/04/apr0410_happy_t.jpg class="imageFloatLeftFramed">Canucks Most - One Period Goals: 5 (NOV.28.09 vs Edmonton, first period) Goals Allowed: 5 (MAR.05.10 at Chicago, first period) Shots: 22 (OCT.30.09 at Anaheim, third period) Shots allowed: 22 (NOV.06.09 at Dallas, first period) Canucks Fewest - One Period Shots: 0 (MAR.14.10 vs Calgary, third period) Shots Allowed: 2 (MAR.13.10 vs Ottawa, first period) Canucks Most - One Game Goals: 8 (NOV.14.09 at Colorado) Goals Allowed: 8 (APR.01.10 at Los Angeles) Shots: 47 (FEB.02.10 at Montreal) Shots Allowed: 54 (MAR.20.10 vs Detroit) Penalty Minutes: 68 (NOV.10.09 at St. Louis) Penalty Minutes Opposition: 58 (APR.08.10 at San Jose) Canucks Fewest - One Game Goals: 0 (twice - most recent NOV.22.09 vs Chicago) Goals Allowed: 0 (five times - most recent FEB.11.10 at Florida) Shots: 15 (OCT.29.09 at Los Angeles) Shots Allowed: 14 (MAR.13.10 vs Ottawa) Penalty Minutes: 2 (JAN.25.10 vs Buffalo) Penalty Minutes Opposition: 4 (three times - most recent MAR.20.10 vs Detroit) Canucks Largest - One Game Margin of victory: 6 (twice - most recent NOV.14.09 at Colorado, 8-2) Margin of defeat: 5 (three times - most recent APR.01.10 at Los Angeles, 3-8) <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/04/apr0410_spray_t.jpg class="imageFloatRightFramed">Individual Most - One Game Goals: 3 (eight times - Daniel Sedin x2, Alex Burrows x2, Henrik Sedin, Mason Raymond, Mikael Samuelsson, Michael Grabner) Goals Allowed: 3 (four times - David Perron, Erik Cole, Martin Erat, Dustin Brown) Assists: 4 (Henrik Sedin - APR.10.10 vs Calgary) Assists Allowed: 3 (six times - Rick Nash, James Wisniewski, Brad Boyes, Daniel Alfredsson, John Tavares, Patrick Marleau) Points: 4 (five times - Henrik Sedin x2, Alex Burrows, Mikael Samuelsson, Daniel Sedin) Points Allowed: 5 (John Tavares - MAR.16.10 vs New York Islanders) Saves: 50 (Roberto Luongo - MAR.20.10 vs Detroit) Saves, Opponent: 45 (Jaroslav Halak - FEB.02.10 at Montreal) Statistics and other information appearing in this blog are for entertainment purposes only and a sense of humour is recommended when reading. E-mail the author here or follow him on Twitter.

It is a contemplative week for Number Crunching as we look towards the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs for the 2010 Northwest Division Champions Vancouver Canucks. As part of our reflection, we take a trip down memory lane and revisit our mid-season award predictions and give our final thoughts on which Canucks should walk away this season with some hardware. WHAT IF DANIEL SEDIN DID NOT MISS 19 GAMES THIS SEASON DUE TO INJURY? <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/03/mar2410_burtwin_rr.jpg class="imageFloatLeftFramed">Henrik Sedin had a bad sense of déjà vu this past Thursday in Los Angeles (in addition to the bad taste left in his mouth from an 8-3 shellacking at the hands of the Kings) when - for the first time since mid-November - he looked over to his left winger and didn't see the familiar face of brother Daniel starring back at him. Despite playing in a career-high 19 games without Daniel this season (Daniel's previous career-high for most regular season games missed in a single year was seven while Henrik's is six), Henrik has managed to hold his own as evidenced by him challenging for the Art Ross Trophy this season as the NHL's leading point scorer. So just where would Henrik be had Daniel been by his side for all 79 games and counting this season? Henrik has been a point-a-game player so far this with Daniel out of the lineup scoring 10 goals and 19 points in 19 games with his brother on the shelf and while that pace would have been enough to match his previous career-high already, with brother Daniel in the lineup Henrik has been (naturally) even more dynamic. Through 60 games with Daniel in the lineup, Henrik is averaging 1.45 points-per-game with 19 goals and 87 points. If he managed to keep that pace for an entire 82-game season, Henrik would have finished this season with roughly 119 points. In that alternate reality, only three post-lockout players would have had more points in a single season than Henrik: Joe Thornton (125 points in 2005.06), Jaromir Jagr (123 points in 2005.06) and Sidney Crosby (120 points in 2006.07). WHAT IF THE CANUCKS DON'T WIN ON THURSDAY IN SAN JOSE? <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/03/mar2710_clowe_fps.jpg class="imageFloatRightFramed">If the Canucks don't secure at least a single point against the Sharks on Thursday in their final road game of the season, it will mark the first time since the 2000.01 season that the Canucks will qualify for the playoffs despite having a losing road record during the regular season. Having a sub-.500 record away from home heading into the playoffs is nothing new for the organization however. Out of the previous 22 times the Canucks have qualified for the post-season, only nine times have they had a .500 or better road record heading into the playoffs. So how has a positive road record during the regular season translated into success away from the home in the playoffs? In years where Vancouver's regular season road record is at .500 or better (1991.92, 1992.93, 1993.94, 1995.96, 2001.02 2002.03, 2003.04, 2006.07 and 2008.09), Vancouver's combined road record in the playoffs is 26-24. In years where Vancouver's regular season road record is below .500, Vancouver's combined road record in the playoffs is 12-24. WHAT IF THE CANUCKS HAD NOT BEEN BLOWN OUT BY THE KINGS ON THURSDAY? <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/04/apr0110_lak_kopitar_t.jpg class="imageFloatLeftFramed">With the Canucks being pounded on the scoreboard on Thursday in Los Angeles, they opted to take a small measure of revenge out on their opponents by dishing out 32 hits versus just 15 delivered by the Kings that night. The 17-hit differential in favour of the Canucks marked a season-high for Vancouver surpassing the 16-hit positive differential they had way back on October 5, 2009 in their home opener - a 5-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Overall, it was just the third time this season Vancouver has out-hit an opponent by double digits and good thing too considering the Canucks are 0-3-0 in those three games. Conversely, the Canucks' record this season when out-hit by double digits is 7-5-1. NUMBER CRUNCHING PLAYER OF THE WEEK <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/04/apr0210_ducks08_t.jpg class="imageFloatRightFramed">Michael Grabner: Three goals and five points in four games played. After just one point in his first five games back in the NHL, Michael Grabner finally found his game this past week recording a three-game point streak from March 30 - April 2, highlighted by his first-career NHL hat trick on Friday against the Anaheim Ducks. There may have been grumblings about Grabner being slotted right away onto the second line upon his return to the NHL - ahead of a 20-goal scorer such as Mason Raymond - but Grabner quickly put his critics to rest by having the best week of his NHL career to date. Grabner's emergence and the respective returns of Pavol Demitra and Mikael Samuelsson to the Canucks lineup now gives the Canucks three solid scoring lines heading into the playoffs. With Steve Bernier inching closer towards a return to the lineup as well, the Canucks could arguably be the deepest team at the forward position compared to all other NHL playoff-bound clubs. CRUNCHED BY THE NUMBERS <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/03/mar3010_juice_t.jpg class="imageFloatLeftFramed">Kevin Bieksa: One goal...err, almost, in four games played. In the immortal words of Dr. Evil: "Throwing me a frickin' bone here!" After not finding the back of the net since Vancouver's season opener back on October 1, 2009, Kevin Bieksa looked to have finally bumped the goal slump on Sunday when he was credited with a goal against the Minnesota Wild in the second period of that contest...or so he thought. Unfortunately, 17 minutes worth of intermission time and the work of some overzealous off-ice officials at GM Place on Sunday took away what would have been Bieksa's second goal of the season and gave it to Kyle Wellwood. (Remember when fans booed Tanner Glass earlier in the season for being credited with a goal that was initially thought to be Wellwood's? Ah memories.) To his credit, Bieksa still finished the week off with two assists (should have been a goal and an assist...just saying) and now has 18 helpers on the season. A LOOK BACK AT NUMBER CRUNCHING'S MID-SEASON AWARDS Back in late December - when this blog was in still in its infancy - we came out with our Special Mid-Season Awards Edition where we gave you our picks for the Canucks award winners had the season ended at the same time the 2009 calendar year did. Here's a look back at those picks and what our final thoughts are now: <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/03/mar3010_burbieksa_t.jpg class="imageFloatRightFramed">Most Exciting Player Mid-season pick: Mason Raymond Year-end pick: Alex Burrows Analysis: After 39 games gone by in the season, only one player - Henrik Sedin - had more goals on the team than Mason Raymond who had already shattered his previous career-high with 17 tallies. Raymond's production has dropped since then with just seven goals in his last 40 games. But even with that said, it is clear Alex Burrows is the runaway pick for this award. His back-to-back hat tricks just a week after that blog was published was a sign of things to come for the Pincourt, QC native who looks poised to finish the season with the most goals on the team. <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/03/032410_VAN_ANA_205d.jpg class="imageFloatLeftFramed">Fred J. Hume Award for Unsung Hero Mid-season pick: Willie Mitchell Year-end pick: Andrew Raycroft Analysis: Perhaps this award should still go to Willie Mitchell considering Vancouver's struggles at the defensive end of the ice since his absence. Number Crunching is good, but not good enough to predict Willie would last just over two more weeks after that blog was published before being shut down (we assume) for the rest of the season due to a concussion. However, it's hard to argue with what Raycroft has done in the second half of the season. Since that blog was published, Raycroft's highlights include stepping into a 3-0 deficit in Toronto and helping the Canucks pull out a 5-3 win back on January 30 and clinching a playoff spot for the boys on April 2 in Anaheim with a 5-4 shootout victory. His nine wins (and counting) this season are the most by a Canucks back-up in the Roberto Luongo era. <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/03/mar2710_scrappy_t.jpg class="imageFloatRightFramed">Babe Pratt Trophy for Most Outstanding Defenceman Mid-season pick: Christian Ehrhoff Year-end pick: Christian Ehrhoff Analysis: He's been Mr. Consistency on the back-end all season. His 14 goals and 43 points lead all Canucks defencemen in those categories while he also has an eye-popping plus-33 rating. The Canucks can only hope his tweaked knee at the end of Sunday's win over the Wild at GM Place is nothing serious. <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/03/mar2710_face_t.jpg class="imageFloatLeftFramed">Cyclone Taylor Trophy as Canucks MVP Mid-season pick: Henrik Sedin Year-end pick: Henrik Sedin Analysis: We figured he would runaway with the team's scoring lead, but we never thought he'd be close to running away for the NHL's scoring title as well. Henrik is not only a shoe-in for the team MVP, he deserves serious consideration for the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP as well (Ken Campbell...I'm looking at you). <img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/03/mar2710_luclowe_t.jpg class="imageFloatRightFramed">Molson Cup Winner Mid-season pick: Roberto Luongo Year-end pick: Henrik Sedin Analysis: Somewhere between our Mid-Season Awards blogand now, the Canucks official Media Game Notes package stopped listing the full points standings for the Molson Cup - which is given the player with the most three-star selections at the end of the season. What we can tell you is that Henrik has won the monthly award three times (October, November, March), Luongo twice (January and February) and Kesler once (December). Our initial thought when picking Luongo mid-season (even though Henrik actually led the standings at the time of that blog) was we felt as good as Henrik had performed to that point, Luongo would be a difference most nights for Vancouver down the stretch. Let's just say we were right about that...but not so much in the way we thought it would work out. Statistics and other information appearing in this blog are for entertainment purposes only and a sense of humour is recommended. E-mail the author here or follow him on Twitter.