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.
The only stick-tap that matters: a tap of the stick for Jacob Markstrom who finally, after 128 games played and 114 starts, posted the first shutout of his career. He was fantastic, making 30 saves on 30 shots. Markstrom may have downplayed the moment in his post-game interviews, saying that getting shutout mattered less and less the older he got, but this was still a special night for the Canucks’ keeper.
Stick-tap to the Canucks skaters in front of Markstrom, who did an excellent job as the game wound down of keeping the Hurricanes to the outside and limiting their chances. There were some hairy moments in the third period, but most of the shots were one-and-done, with the Canucks quickly clearing the puck out of danger.
Dropping the gloves with the Canucks’ legs in the first period, as it seemed the road trip finally caught up to them. They came out flat and shots were quickly 12-3 for the Hurricanes in the first period; only Markstrom kept the score knotted at zeroes.
A tap of the stick to Derrick Pouliot for opening the scoring against the flow of play. The opportunity seemed to come out of nowhere, as he casually skated in, cut to the middle, and unleashed a wrist shot into the top corner past Scott Darling. Pouliot then assisted on the Canucks' other two goals, giving him the first three-point night of his career.
Pouliot takes, cuts and goes far post and in for the really nice goal#Canucks up 1-0 pic.twitter.com/i8AzzzbQqq
— Ryan Biech (@ryanbiech) December 6, 2017
Thomas Vanek gets a stick-tap for his textbook tip-in to make it 2-0 on a second period power play. Pouliot picked up his second point of the night with the second assist, while Sam Gagner’s slap shot/pass was perfectly placed for Vanek to redirect it.
Have to drop the gloves with Gagner, however, for his defensive zone play. When he was on the ice at 5-on-5, shot-attempts were 20-to-6 for the Hurricanes and shots on goal were 12-to-4, partly due to his overall lack of defensive awareness. He got his pocket picked while standing in the slot at one point, forcing a great glove save from Markstrom.
To be fair to Gagner, he had to pull double-duty, filling in between Brock Boeser and Nikolay Goldobin late, so I’ll drop the gloves with whatever injury took Bo Horvat out of the game. Travis Green likely would have felt a lot better about the Canucks defending the lead with Horvat on the ice.
Tap of the stick to Nikolay Goldobin, who scored a pretty goal to make it 3-0. He dangled a defender, then hit the post behind Darling before putting the puck in on the rebound. The slick hands were impressive enough, but not giving up on the play is what led to the goal.
Goldobin cuts through defenders, hits the post, follows up and pots it - puts #Canucks up 3-0 pic.twitter.com/R2YLcvIMqC
— Ryan Biech (@ryanbiech) December 6, 2017
Brendan Gaunce deserves a stick-tap for his excellent defensive play in this game. He and his linemates were matched up against the Hurricanes’ top line, with Gaunce getting the most minutes against Teuvo Teravainen, their top scorer. In a game where the Canucks were out-shot 30-to-22, Gaunce was even in shots on goal at 5-on-5.
A tap of the stick to Chris Tanev and Alex Edler, who led the Canucks in ice time, played big minutes against the best the Hurricanes had to offer, and helped keep them off the score sheet.
Michael Del Zotto gets a stick-tap as well. He led the Canucks with five hits, was third in ice-time, and had the best shot-differential among Canucks defencemen, with the Canucks out-shooting the Hurricanes 9-to-5 when he was on the ice. An extra stick-tap to his defence partner, Pouliot, for helping out with that.
One more time, for those in the back: a massive tap of the stick for Jacob Markstrom, who no longer threatens “Pokey” Reddick’s shutout-less streak. He is the man of the hour and deserves an arena-ful of stick-taps.
