Canucks News: A bizarre season for Quinn & a victory for Eriksson

This season, the Canucks have gone from downright bad to downright unlucky.

I’m not saying they deserved to win last night...but the inventive ways in which they lose always leaves you shaking your head.

Last night, it was a combination of one of Vancouver’s best defensive defenceman, Nate Schmidt, making an ill-advised pass from behind his goal line that ended up in his own net. Then, after Brock Boeser’s game-tying goal, the Canucks were never given a chance to entertain during three-on-three after Johnny Gaudreau’s game-winning goal, with Quinn Hughes sitting in the penalty box.

• The Canucks “won” their first loser point of the season last night, and Jimmi has you covered with more in our recap. [Nucks Misconduct]

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• One player who’s endured a bizarre season has been Quinn Hughes. There’s no other player in the NHL that leads their team in scoring while ranking dead last on the team in goal differential. Travis Yost talks more about Hughes’s bizarre season in this piece. [TSN]

The article throws out a couple of narratives on whether Hughes has been bad defensively, or just unlucky. The answer is both, although Yost hammers home how the Canucks have had dreadfully bad goaltending with Hughes on the ice.

One stat that points towards Hughes’s bad defensive luck is his expected goals-against per-60 versus the actual goals he’s been on the ice for at even-strength.

His expected goals-against is 3.03, but he’s actually been on the ice for 5.19 goals per-60 at even-strength. Hughes is a smart player and he’ll figure out how to be on the ice for fewer chances against, but those numbers are bound to inch closer together as the season progresses.

• Another Canucks defenceman has slowly been impressing, and I talk about him this morning on The Quickie podcast.

• Also on the NM podcast network, Nick Bondi drops the latest episode of Power of the Towel where he discusses the soap opera which is the Vancouver Canucks.

• This article from The Hockey News lists “The Ugliest Contracts in the NHL.” Loui Eriksson should be feeling good this morning, because his name was not on the list [Sports Illustrated]
• In other NHL news, the Senators pulled off one of the best comebacks of the season, by beating the Maple Leafs in overtime after previously trailing in the game 5-1.

Leaf fans...I’ll be expecting your “Canucks suck” emails shortly, which tends to happen every time we have a good ol’ “Leafs lol” in this blog.

• Finally, Katie Strang details the “dysfunction, finger-pointing, fear and financial woes” of the Arizona Coyotes organization. [The Athletic]

It’s a thorough and damning read. For years, I’ve been saying on Silky N’ Filthy that the Panthers belong in Quebec. I’m equally as open to having another inept southern hockey market fall victim to Canada.

The North Division should have had eight teams this season. C’est la vie.