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. That’s right: two post-game articles for the price of one! That price is still zero dollars.
A grudging stick-tap to Cory Schneider, who was dominant in the New Jersey net, making 37 saves for his first shutout of the season. He was really good, the big jerk.
A much less grudging stick-tap to Brian Boyle, who made his season debut six weeks after being diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia. It's a pretty auspicious way to kick off Hockey Fights Cancer month for the NHL.
Dropping the gloves with the Canucks for missing the net so many times. Of the Canucks 80 shot attempts, 22 missed the net. It’s a bit understandable though, as the Devils blocked another 21 shots. The Canucks likely were just trying to get the puck past the shot-blockers.
A tap of the stick for the line of Sam Gagner, Alexander Burmistrov, and Thomas Vanek, who were one of the Canucks’ best lines in this game, creating numerous scoring chances. The trio combined for 11 shots on goal and they gave up nothing defensively, spending long shifts in the offensive zone instead.
Stick-tap to the Sedins and Jake Virtanen for a dominant puck possession performance. They controlled the pace of play, created several scoring chances, and gave up nothing in the defensive zone when they were on the ice. Shot attempts were 19-3 Canucks when Daniel and Henrik were on the ice at 5-on-5. 19-3!
Dropping the gloves with the Sedins and Virtanen for one thing, however: shots on goal. The Canucks may have had 19 shot attempts when they were on the ice at 5-on-5, but only 6 of those attempts were on goal. That’s 13 shots that missed the net or were blocked.
A tap of the stick for Alex Biega, who followed up his great game against the Stars with another great one against the Devils. The Bulldog played just over 15 minutes and saw the Canucks out-shoot the Devils 15-5 at even-strength in that time. He once again jumped up into the rush at every opportunity and finished with 3 shots on goal himself.
Ben Hutton gets a stick tap: he led the Canucks in ice-time with 25:19, largely playing against the Devils’ top two lines. He had a game-high 11 shot attempts, even if only 3 of them got through to the net. He distributed the puck well on the power play and handled his defensive responsibilities well.
Poor Jacob Markstrom gets a stick tap for getting tagged for a loss when he allowed just one goal. He’s only allowed two goals in regulation in his last two games; he lost both games. That’s just not fair.
Markstrom really doesn’t deserve dropped gloves after that game, so maybe I’ll just shake them like I might drop them, while saying, “You wanna go? You wanna go?!” The one goal that did get by him is one that he should have stopped. He made a solid save on Taylor Hall off the rush, then took a moment too long to recover, so he got set a bit late when Jimmy Hayes took a slap shot from the right boards. Markstrom knew he should have had it too, slamming his stick into the ice after the goal.
Jimmy Hayes scores to put #NJDevils up 1-0 in the second period#Canucks pic.twitter.com/ikzK2dCxU6
— Ryan Biech (@ryanbiech) November 2, 2017
