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.
I’ll start by dropping the gloves with Henrik Sedin for doing what Henrik is wont to do: pass the puck. On an early power play, Brock Boeser drilled two hard shots on goal, then caught Jonathan Quick completely out of position with a fake shot, then sent a hard pass to Henrik Sedin at the backdoor. With a wide open net, Henrik didn’t shoot the puck: he tried to pass to Daniel in front, who got immediately checked. I know it goes against your nature, Henrik, but when there is no goaltender in the net, shoot the puck.
Troy Stecher gets a tap of the stick for opening the scoring with his first goal of the season. He stepped down the boards, fought off the check from Alex Iafallo, then ripped a wrist shot into the top corner with Brendan Gaunce screening Jonathan Quick. Stecher nearly had another on an exciting end-to-end dash later in the game.
Troy From Richmond weaving in and out of people like it's rush hour on Number 3 road pic.twitter.com/EtKWhRaE0Y
— Wyatt Arndt (@TheStanchion) December 31, 2017
Michael Del Zotto gets the gloves dropped for the role he played in the first two Kings goals. He went drifting on the first goal, leaving a path to the net for Tyler Toffoli. On the second, he tracked Marian Gaborik back to the net, but did nothing to impede him or tie up his stick, making it easy for Gaborik to tip the puck past Jacob Markstrom.
Stick-tap to Ben Hutton for running over Dustin Brown with a clean check in the neutral zone early in the second period, because Brown occasionally needs to be run over.
Oh snap, someone showed Hutton where the hit button is pic.twitter.com/AmoRGnKULL
— Wyatt Arndt (@TheStanchion) December 31, 2017
Big tap of the stick to Nikolay Goldobin for his highlight-reel goal. He toe-dragged Drew Doughty, cut to the middle of the ice, then sent a backhand back against the grain on Quick. It was a gorgeous goal and he was one of the few Canucks who didn’t get out-shot when he was on the ice, so of course he finished the game with less than ten minutes of ice time.
A stick-tap to Nic Dowd for getting his first goal as a Canuck against his former team. Hutton stepped out of the penalty box and immediately sent Markus Granlund in 2-on-1 with Dowd. Granlund was looking pass the whole way and Dowd corralled the puck, then whipped it past Quick. Dowd had an overall strong game in a shutdown role with Brendan Gaunce and Jake Virtanen.
Dropping the gloves with Erik Gudbranson on the Kings’ third goal. The vaunted crease clearer had two Kings in the crease and cleared neither of them. Instead, he kicked a rebound right onto Kyle Clifford’s stick, which sent the puck over Markstrom into the net, with help from Clifford himself.
The referees get the gloves dropped, even if that might lead to a lengthy suspension. The Kings and Canucks got tangled up at the benches on a line change, so when Drew Doughty shot the puck into the net to make it 4-3, there were seven Kings on the ice. The refs missed the blatant too many men on the ice call and the goal stood as the game-winner.
As much as Dowd had a good game, I still have to drop the gloves with Travis Green for having him on the ice with two minutes left in the game. Dowd is not an offensive catalyst at all and is not the player you want on the ice when you’re searching for a game-tying goal.
A mild glove-drop to Brock Boeser, Sam Gagner, and Thomas Vanek, who were unable to follow up their incredible game against the Chicago Blackhawks with another strong game. Boeser had four shots on goal, but the line got badly out-shot and out-chanced by the Kings, in particular Marian Gaborik, Tyler Toffoli, and Adrian Kempe.
