The Statsies: Canucks put on a clinic of how not to finish in loss to Blackhawks
That was frustrating.
The Vancouver Canucks lost to the Chicago Blackhawks by a 5-2 scoreline. To lose alone would be plenty frustrating enough, given the opposition, but the way in which the Canucks went down last night only added fuel to the fire. For the first 40 minutes, this team was generating chance after chance after chance, but just unable to bury. So of course the third would see this game turn on its head, giving another lesson in making chances count when you get them.
Here’s the loss, by the numbers.
As always, you can find our glossary guide of advanced stats here.
Game Flow
There was no questioning that the Canucks were the better team through the first two periods. It really wasn’t even close, as with solid CF% shares to their names, Vancouver managed to put up 64.35 xGF% in the first and 77.44 xGF% in the second. It wasn’t just the shares of expected goals either, as the Canucks totalled 3.57 xGF in the same time frame, the Hawks only managing 1.47 xGF in response. But despite those numbers, despite all the good that Vancouver was doing, they didn’t score, which left the door open for their opposition. Chicago took full advantage, as the third period was the only one where they had a CF% and xGF% advantage at 5v5 play, leading to their four rapid goals and putting the Canucks in a hole. Simply put, that just shouldn’t be happening.
Heat Map
Again, the heat map might’ve been one of the most impressive that the Canucks have had all of this season. They got scoring chances in bunches, racking up a 40-26 lead with an 18-12 high-danger chance advantage to boot. There was no questioning that the Canucks did plenty of good things, that they looked threatening and got good chances from the areas that would, in theory, lead to the most goals. But they didn’t deliver when they had the advantage, and that cost them handily in the end.
Individual Advanced Stats
Corsi Champ: Max Sasson led the Canucks last night with a 68.42 CF%, playing primarily against the Blackhawks’ bottom 6 and making the most of this deployment. While the forward didn’t manage to record a point, he was able to tally up the second-best xGF% on the team with an 81.17, while also posting the team’s seventh-best raw xGF at 1.27. For a fourth liner, those are some pretty solid metrics, and hopefully it could translate to some added production from Sasson.
Corsi Chump: Kiefer Sherwood was put into a third-line role last night with some pretty uninspiring numbers to boot. The winger recorded the team’s worst CF% at 41.94 while also tallying the second-worst xGF% at 49.21. Again, those shares don’t sound the worst, but considering the context of the game and overall superiority Vancouver enjoyed over Chicago, it put Sherwood’s performance comfortably towards the bottom of the roster. That has been a rare thing, given how well he’s started this season off, and hopefully this is just an anomaly for Sherwood and not a trend.
xGF: Leading the way in xGF% was Filip Hronek, who racked up an 81.39 playing primarily with Marcus Pettersson and lining up against Conor Bedard’s line all of last night. On ice for a Canucks goal for and 0 goals against, Hronek also split a massive 20-6 scoring chance lead with a further 7-3 edge in high-danger chances. That isn’t an insignificant contribution on both ends of the ice, and the Czech should be recognized for that performance. In raw xGF, Evander Kane led the Canucks with a mind-boggling 2.31 xGF to his name. It was no wonder, as the winger recorded 10 shots during his TOI, on ice for a massive 21-10 scoring chance advantage and 12-4 high-danger chance edge as well.
GSAx: Kevin Lankinen did not have a night to remember. With how little the Blackhawks threatened all night until the third period, the Finnish netminder only faced 2.84 xGF all of last night. That meant, with 4 goals getting past him, that he recorded a -1.16 GSAx, with 3 of the 4 goals coming off high-danger chances and the remaining one from a middle-danger chance. Suffice it to say that it wasn’t the most conducive to helping the Canucks to a win, but granted, the team in front of Lankinen didn’t do him much favours in terms of run support.
Statistical Musings
Bottom Left Myers: Suffice it to say that Tyler Myers did not have a great game against the Blackhawks. Playing primarily with Quinn Hughes, Myers was thrown into the deep end and didn’t exactly swim. The defenceman recorded a team-worst 1.4 xGA at 5v5 play, on ice for 3 goals against while splitting negatively at 12-13 in scoring chances. It just wasn’t the positive impact that the Canucks needed from the back end, especially alongside Quinn Hughes, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to think that it hampered the offensive potential that this pairing could’ve produced to help the Canucks get a result.
As a team
CF% – 54.96% HDCF% – 58.33% xGF% – 58.51%
The Canucks probably deserved better. But, at the same time, that only goes so far when it comes to getting the job done. They did a lot of good things throughout the entire game and should be commended for it, with one of the better statistical showings when it came to chances generated. The biggest thing though, was the fact that they couldn’t capitalize on it – and their opposition took full advantage of their own chances and the momentum swing when it came their way. The Canucks can’t afford to be this wasteful with their opportunities, especially against teams like Chicago.
Vancouver gets a bit of a break before welcoming the Columbus Blue Jackets to town on Saturday.
Stats provided by naturalstattrick.com
Seahawks Land Playmaker, Cut Ties With Rookie Amid 1st Post-NFL Trade Deadline Moves
The Seattle Seahawks are ramping up for the team’s stretch run of the season as the franchise made several roster moves following the NFL trade deadline. Seattle announced the signing of a rookie tight end and the release of an offensive lineman.
The Seahawks signed tight end Marshall Lang to the team’s practice squad on November 6, 2025. To make room for Lang, Seattle released rookie offensive tackle Logan Brown.
The news comes after Seattle also released safety Jerrick Reed earlier in the week to make room for newly acquired receiver Rashid Shaheed. Additionally, the Seahawks signed former Chiefs wideout Mac Dalena to the team’s practice squad.
It has been a week full of roster moves in Seattle. Let’s dive into the latest Seahawks news, roster moves and rumors following the NFL trade deadline.
The Seahawks Reunite With Rookie TE Marshall Lang in a Series of Roster Moves Following the NFL Trade Deadline
It is a bit of a reunion with Lang as the rookie playmaker spent training camp in Seattle. Lang also had a brief three-day stint with the New England Patriots before the franchise released the tight end on October 16.
During his five seasons at Northwestern, Lang posted 48 receptions for 491 yards and four touchdowns. Lang now joins a Seahawks roster with a crowded depth chart at tight end.
Seattle Is Excited About the Big Play Threat of New WR Rashid Shaheed
The big news of the week continues to be Seattle’s acquisition of Shaheed in a last-minute deal with the New Orleans Saints on the NFL trade deadline. Shaheed gives the Seahawks offense even more speed and explosiveness as the wideout is a deep-ball threat.
Additionally, Shaheed can be utilized on special teams as a speedy returner. The move reunites offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak with Shaheed as the assistant previously coached at New Orleans prior to joining Seattle this offseason.
“It didn’t feel like we were missing something, it’s not like we were trying to plug holes or anything like that,” Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said of the trade, per Seahawks.com.
“It was just an opportunity to get a great player and augment what we were doing, that was it.”
Sam Darnold After Seahawks’ Trade for Rashid Shaheed: ‘Throw as Many Routes Without Hurting My Arm as Possible to Him’
Count Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold among those excited to have another explosive weapon in the Pacific Northwest. Shaheed is already making a great first impression with his new teammates. Darnold is getting as many reps as possible with Shaheed ahead of the team’s Week 10 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals.
“We’re really excited to have him,” Darnold explained, via Seahawks.com. “For me, I’m just going to continue to try to get to know him as much as possible. Throw as many routes without hurting my arm as possible to him and just continue to gain that trust and confidence in him.
“… You can tell he’s really smart. Like you said, he was in the system last year, so that helps a lot with formations and different things. So, we’re just going to continue to get him up to speed as much as possible.”
