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.
A tap of the stick to Brock Boeser, as everyone in Canucks nation sincerely hopes that whatever injury he suffered is not as severe as it looked. Late in the third period, Boeser attempted to throw a hit on Cal Clutterbuck, but was thrown backwards into the open gate at the bench, where his lower back/hip collided hard with the edge of the boards. Boeser stayed on the ice a long time and put no weight on his left leg as he left the ice.
I’m dropping the gloves with the Canucks’ training staff for not getting a stretcher out on the ice to carry Boeser off. Obviously I’m not a trained medical professional and they are, but I am hyper-sensitive to potential back injuries after Mason Raymond skated off the ice in the 2011 playoffs with a broken back. If there’s any risk of a spinal injury, even if you don’t think it is one, it seems prudent to take every possible precaution.
To the game itself! Brendan Leipsic gets stick-taps and glove-drops aplenty, as he was somehow involved in almost every single goal of the game. He tallied two goals and an assist, including the overtime winner, but also had three penalties and a costly turnover.
Let’s start with the bad: gloves dropped with Leipsic for his turnover that kept the puck in the Canucks’ zone and led to the opening goal. The Canucks’ defensive structure fell apart shortly after the turnover, as both Boeser and Alex Edler chased John Tavares to the boards, leaving Ben Hutton to deal with Anders Lee in front, and Josh Bailey wide open at the backdoor to deposit the rebound off Lee’s deflection.
Stick-tap to Jacob Markstrom, who kept the Canucks in this game as they got badly out-shot in the first period. He made 14 saves on 15 shots in the opening 20 minutes and audibly yelled at the Canucks’ bench, “Let’s go!” after the first goal. He finished with 31 saves on 34 shots.
Josh Bailey scores and Markstrom isn't happy with how the #Canucks are playing pic.twitter.com/VzJGEHTiPl
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) March 6, 2018
More gloves dropped for Leipsic on the 2-0 goal, as it came right after he finished serving a penalty and was unable to get back into the play. This wasn’t all Leipsic’s fault, of course, as the tired penalty kill was just too static and didn’t get into passing lanes effectively. Still, Leipsic took the penalty in the first place.
Tap of the stick to Bo Horvat, who had a dominant shift leading to the Canucks’ first goal. He made a slick move to get by Tavares along the boards and eventually set up Jake Virtanen below the goal line. His attempted bank shot came out front to Leipsic, who backhanded the puck home.
Stick-tap to Travis Green for making the bold move to split up Brock Boeser and Bo Horvat. It paid off, as Jake Virtanen played one of his best games with Horvat and Leipsic, while Boeser and Nikolay Goldobin look like they could develop some chemistry.
Darren Archibald gets a big stick-tap for his third goal of the season, making it 2-2 with a wonderfully subtle penalty shot move. He came in with speed down the right side, and the moment Jaroslav Halak cheated towards a five-hole shot, Archibald pushed the puck to the left to change the angle and whipped it up over Halak’s right pad.
Tap of the stick to Jake Virtanen, who put the Canucks up 3-2 after a lovely pass by Leipsic off the rush. Virtanen left Adam Pelech in the dust with his speed, giving him plenty of room to release a snap shot past Halak’s glove. Virtanen used his speed effectively all game, nearly scoring another goal on a wraparound earlier in the game. He also took advantage of his size, throwing a game-high five hits.
One more glove dropped with Leipsic for taking a penalty with two minutes left, giving the Islanders a chance to pull Halak and go 6-on-4 to finish regulation. They needed less than one minute, as Tavares’s shot hit Jordan Eberle beside the net and dropped right to his stick, where he sent it into the open cage.
Leipsic gets a big tap of the stick for the pure effort he demonstrated to score the game-winning goal in overtime. He hounded Anthony Beauvillier, stole the puck, evade Halak’s aggressive poke check and hit the vacated net. All told, Leipsic had a fantastic game. A little more discipline with his stick to avoid minor penalties wouldn’t go amiss, however.
Finally, stick-tap to the Canucks for successfully evading the Crap Mantle. That was far too close for comfort.
