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Stick-taps and Glove-drops: Canucks vs Red Wings, November 6, 2017

Congrats and critiques from tonight's game.
Daniel Wagner
Daniel Wagner
Stick-taps and Glove-drops
Stick-taps and Glove-drops

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 tap of the stick to Travis Green for starting the game with the Sedin line, which felt like he was sending a message to Canucks fans after they played fourth-line minutes against the Pittsburgh Penguins: yes, the Sedins are still an important part of the team.

The Canucks social media team gets a stick-tap for making the Horvat line the first line on their pre-game lineup for the first time.

 

 

A stick-tap to Thatcher Demko, who dressed for his first game with the Vancouver Canucks. He may not have played, but he still got to suit up in an NHL jersey and sit on an NHL bench for an NHL game for the very first time. That has to be a special experience.

 

 

Also, everyone should send some stick-taps in the direction of Anders Nilsson and his fiancée, with their new baby on the way or, perhaps, already here.

Dropping the gloves with Michael Del Zotto on the Red Wings’ first goal, who failed to clear the puck from the front of the goal, then proceeded to watch that puck get saved by Jacob Markstrom and go out to Darren Helm instead of looking for Helm (or someone like him) to tie up and prevent them from doing exactly what Helm did: scoring a goal.

Jacob Markstrom deserves a stick-tap or two from his teammates, who gave up some very high-quality chances with some sloppy puck management. Markstrom bailed them out repeatedly, even if he ultimately only made 26 saves on 29 shots.

I have to drop the gloves with Henrik Sedin for failing to convert on two opportunities off the rush set up by Jake Virtanen. On one, Virtanen set him up alone in front and he couldn’t beat Howard and on the other he tried to force a pass back to Virtanen that got picked off.

Poor Chris Tanev gets a half-hearted drop of the gloves for putting the puck into his own net off a rebound. His stick was checked by Anthony Mantha right as he went to handle the puck, but it still looked bad.

 

 

I have to drop the gloves with Sportsnet 650’s Andrew Walker for his defence of Brandon Sutter during the intermission. “I am staunchly...an eye test guy over the numbers side,” said Walker when I talked to him in July, but when he needed to defend Sutter, he went straight to a number, specifically one of the least useful and most deceiving statistics in hockey. I have no issues with people defending Sutter and his role on the Canucks, but that defence needs a solid base and real evidence, not plus/minus.

A stick-tap for Thomas Vanek, who created some of the Canucks’ best chances in this game. He set up Henrik Sedin with an open net on the power play in the first period, and had two good opportunities off turnovers in the Red Wings’ zone, but couldn’t capitalize.

Stick-tap for Travis Green for putting Vanek out with the Sedins at even-strength while looking for a goal. It immediately worked, as Vanek set up in front of the net and tapped Ben Hutton’s deflected point shot to Daniel at the side of the net for the Canucks’ first goal.

Michael Del Zotto gets a big tap of the stick for his gorgeous 4-on-4 goal. Horvat spotted him streaking into the zone and he cut inside on Tomas Tatar before flinging the puck past Howard.

Don Cherry will probably drop the gloves with Ben Hutton for reaching in and tipping Tomas Tatar’s shot that beat Jacob Markstrom for the game-winning goal, but I’m instead going to drop the gloves with the referees who somehow missed Hutton get blatantly tripped by Tatar a moment before the goal. There’s a reason why Hutton was so far out of position on the goal.

 

 

 


 

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