Meriläinen Backstops Canucks Past Flames
This was about control in the crease and quality over volume. Leevi Meriläinen kept Vancouver calm, and the Canucks’ looks were simply better than Calgary’s. The chance ledger backs it up: Vancouver’s chances added up to 3.18 expected goals to Calgary’s 1.88, while Meriläinen outperformed the math with +0.88 goals saved above expected — expected goals is how much the chances against were worth; goals saved above expected shows how much a goalie beat that.
Shot attempts were basically split, but Vancouver’s danger came from the middle. Liam Ohgren (goal and assist) and Aatu Räty (goal) finished, Linus Karlsson fed plays, and Elias Pettersson scored and rang iron. It was an iron night overall: four pings, including Pettersson and Karlsson for Vancouver, and Matvei Gridin and Samuel Honzek for Calgary — the kind of near-misses that inflate peril even when the box score doesn’t. Devin Cooley made 23 saves to keep it interesting.
It’s early — Vancouver sits sixth in the Pacific — but the offense looks lively. Still, 21 penalty minutes and a few clean looks against are reminders there’s defensive work to do even in a 4-1 home result.