Stick-taps and glove-drops is a recurring feature after every Canucks game giving some quick kudos and criticism before the longer I Watched This Game feature. Feel free to leave your own stick-taps and glove-drops in the comments.
Big tap of the stick to Thatcher Demko, who got the surprise call-up on Friday with Anders Nilsson ill, then got his first NHL start on Saturday afternoon. He looked calm and comfortable in his debut and didn’t give up a single even-strength goal, even if he got beat twice on the power play and twice at 6-on-5 with the Blue Jackets’ net empty. Solid debut for the young netminder.
I’ll drop the gloves with Demko’s posts, which lulled him into a false sense of security by helping him out early, then betrayed him on the Blue Jackets’ first power play, as Seth Jones point shot through traffic went off the post and in. Sneaky little postses. Wicked, tricksy false! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLHNJ7vgbYo
Stick-tap to Reid Boucher, Adam Gaudette, and Jake Virtanen, who were the Canucks’ most exciting line in this game, creating multiple dangerous rushes and chances. Gaudette and Virtanen, in particular, looked like they had some instant chemistry, with their respective north-south styles meshing well together. Virtanen finished the game with four shots on goal and six hits.
Let’s give another stick-tap to Demko, because his stop on Cam Atkinson on a 2-on-1 deserves more taps. On a 2-on-1, Artemi Panarin evaded Troy Stecher’s stick to set up Cam Atkinson, but Demko slid across to make the left pad save, then covered up the rebound.
Stick-tap to Darren Archibald, who embraced the lemons that life gave him when his outlet pass was blocked, and made sweet lemonade, carrying the puck up ice himself and firing a shot that changed direction off David Savard’s skate and fooled Joonas Korpisalo.
Nikolay Goldobin gets a tap of the stick for taking advantage of a forward back defending a rush, playing a quick give-and-go with Jussi Jokinen to open up some space, then drilling a one-timer five-hole on Korpisalo.
A tap of the stick to Jussi Jokinen, who had a three-point night, giving him six points in his last four games and eight points in 11 games since joining the Canucks. By no means is this an endorsement of the Canucks re-signing Jokinen, but he at least deserves a few stick-taps.
Jake Virtanen gets a stick-tap on Jokinen’s goal, as he showed a side of his game we have never seen before. After a nice zone entry by Bo Horvat, Virtanen got the puck behind the net and set up like he was Wayne Gretzky in his office. He waited patiently until Savard and Alexander Wennberg left Jokinen open, then saucer’d a pass through Savard’s legs for Jokinen to fire into the net. I am all for Jake Virtanen: Secret Playmaker.
A stick-tap to Bo Horvat, who took a feed from Jokinen behind the Blue Jackets’ defence and beat Korpisalo on the short side as the goaltender anticipated a move across the net. Horvat’s two-point night brings him up to 21 goals and 42 points in 61 games.
I have to drop the gloves with Darren Archibald on the Blue Jackets second goal. He got caught chasing the puck-carrier up the boards on the penalty kill, taking him way out of position. When the pass came to Pierre-Luc Dubois in the middle, where Archibald would have rotated to on the kill, Dubois was instead wide open and beat Demko just inside the post.
Tyler Motte or Brandon Sutter get the gloves dropped on the 4-3 goal. With Korpisalo pulled for the extra attacker, Motte and Sutter needed to be extra aware of who was open on the ice, but both got caught puck-watching in the neutral zone as defenceman Zach Werenski moved in on the left wing on a 3-on-2. One of them needed to come back on Werenski, but neither did, and he took the pass from Panarin and rifled the shot upstairs. Demko had no chance.
Motte gets the gloves dropped again on the tying goal. As Stecher moved aggressively on the puck-carrier, Motte needed to drop back to the net to cover for him, but instead he stopped in the slot and seemed unaware of Atkinson behind him. Seth Jones sent a hard pass to Atkinson at the back door and he redirected it behind Demko.
Alex Edler gets a massive stick-tap for saving the win for Demko with his goal in overtime. Edler had all day with the puck and waited out Korpisalo, looked towards Sam Gagner to suggest he might pass, then whipped a hard shot inside the far post. It was the least he could do for Demko considering he was on the ice for every goal against.
Stick-tap to Sutter on the game-winner as well, as he lost the puck momentarily, but made a nice stick-lift to win it back and sent it to Edler. Losing the puck was actually fortuitous, as it made the Blue Jackets start to rush up ice, which is what gave Edler so much time. Other than the defensive breakdowns at 6-on-5, Sutter actually had a strong game with Motte and Archibald, limiting the Blue Jackets' top line of Panarin, Atkinson, and Dubois to just two shots on goal at 5-on-5 when they were on the ice together.
