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.
Jacob Markstrom gets the first tap of the stick, making 41 saves on 42 shots. It didn’t look like it was going to be a banner night for the Canucks goaltender when he was beat 43 seconds into the game, but the goal was disallowed as Brad Richardson went off for goaltender interference instead.
Tap of the stick to Daniel Sedin, who has been on a hot streak. His two-goal night gave him nine points in his last seven games.
Stick-tap to Henrik Sedin and Derrick Pouliot, who combined for a slick passing play to set up Daniel’s first goal on the power play granted by Richardson’s goaltender interference. Henrik spun on the boards, sending a perfect backhand pass to Pouliot, who smartly redirected the puck to Daniel instead of trying for the shot himself. Daniel pulled it in front with a quick backhand-forehand move and finished with authority.
Hate to do it in his first game after a series of healthy scratches, but I have to drop the gloves with Ben Hutton. He didn’t have any egregious errors, with his most noticeable moment being a strong win on a puck battle down low, but he and his partner, Pouliot, repeatedly got pinned in the defensive zone and struggled on the breakout. The Canucks were out-shot 16-2 with Hutton on the ice at 5-on-5.
Stick-tap to you if you put up with the first two periods of this game and were rewarded with a pretty exciting third period. The first 40 minutes were dreadfully boring, but things livened up in the final 20.
Tap of the stick to Erik Gudbranson, who had some positive moments after a couple rough games, including a great breakaway pass for Bo Horvat and some solid defensive plays. The Canucks were still out-shot 15-5 when he was on the ice at 5-on-5, but Gudbranson played a physical, sound defensive game.
Dropping the gloves with Alex Edler, who wasn’t at his best. He had a bad turnover to Zac Rinaldo early in the second and got beat badly by Clayton Keller in the third period. Admittedly when you play over 24 minutes in a game, you’re going to have some bad moments. Sometimes it’s just plain bad luck, like when he stopped a shot with his stick on the penalty kill, but unfortunately sent the puck directly to Alex Goligoski, who roofed the puck over Markstrom for the Coyotes’ lone goal.
Stick-tap to Troy Stecher. He was one of the Canucks’ best players and contributed to the game-winning goal by pinching down the boards. He or the Arizona player got a piece of the puck and it settled for Brock Boeser, who flung it towards the net, where Daniel Sedin tipped it past Kuemper to make it 2-1.
Stecher got an actual assist a couple minutes later, setting up a shorthanded 2-on-1 for Brandon Sutter and Darren Archibald, both of whom get a tap of the stick. They executed perfectly on the odd-man rush, as Sutter floated a perfect saucer pass over Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s stick and Archibald fired home the one-timer for his second goal of the season.
In fact, stick-tap to that entire line: Loui Eriksson, Brandon Sutter, and Darren Archibald. They played a solid game, spending most of their shifts grinding in the offensive zone. It’s too bad that two-thirds of the line are costing the Canucks $10.375 million per year, as they’re a pretty decent third line.
Tap of the stick to John Garrett, who unleashed a great burn on the Coyotes out of nowhere. When a puck went sailing over the glass in the mostly empty Gila River Arena, he uttered, “Chances are it won’t hit anybody.” Savage.
