The Vancouver Canucks entered the season having not made the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2014-15 but have put themselves in good position to end that drought.
Forwards Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson and Bo Horvat, along with defenseman Quinn Hughes and goalie Jacob Markstrom, have kept the Canucks in the wild card and Pacific Division races; Vancouver is tied with the Nashville Predators for the second wild card in the Western Conference and is one point behind the third-place Calgary Flames in the division.
To showcase the best performances this season, here are their top players in various categories:
MVP
Pettersson, in his second NHL season, is tied for the Vancouver lead in goals (27) and is second in points (66), tying his NHL career high from last season. The 21-year-old center has 24 power-play points, five game-winning goals and leads the Canucks with a plus-16 rating playing 18:32 per game.
Rookie
Hughes got a taste of the NHL last season when he had three assists in five games down the stretch. This season, the 20-year-old leads all rookies in assists (45) and points (53) and is tied for fourth among all defensemen in points. He's quarterbacked the power play (25 points), helping Vancouver rank fourth in power-play percentage (24.1 percent) and is a big reason for their success.
Defenseman
In addition to his offensive statistics, Hughes is second on the Canucks in ice time per game (21:53), behind defenseman Alexander Edler (22:37). Hughes has an SAT percentage of 52.5 percent and an SAT of plus-110, meaning he's been on the ice for 110 more shots for than against at 5-on-5. He has 46 blocked shots, and his 35 takeaways rank second among Canucks defensemen behind Tyler Myers (42).
Defensive forward
Jay Beagle has been one of the most consistent and underrated defensive forwards in the NHL for the past few seasons. His 59.1 percent face-off percentage is third in the League (minimum 300 face-offs) and he has won 61.1 percent of his 460 even-strength face-offs and 54.3 percent of his 210 shorthanded face-offs. In limited ice time (12:34 per game), Beagle has been a shutdown forward; his 14.1 percent of offensive-zone starts is lowest in the NHL of the 606 players with at least 30 games, showing how he's relied on in the defensive end.
Comeback player
After an offseason trade to the Canucks from the Tampa Bay Lighting, forward J.T. Miller has been one of the biggest surprises in the NHL. He's set NHL career highs in goals (27), assists (45) and points (72) and leads or is tied for the Vancouver lead in each category. Miller also has his top marks in power-play points (25) and shots on goal (165) and has won 59.2 percent of face-offs. His 20:06 of ice time per game is best among Vancouver forwards, and he's a plus-11 in 69 games.
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