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 Daniel and Henrik Sedin, who played the final home game of their career and were utterly dominant. It was a storybook ending to their time in Vancouver as players, right down to the overtime game-winning goal.
Actually, I’ll drop the gloves with this game. It was too perfect. When I tell my kids about it years in the future, they’ll never believe me.
Let’s give another stick-tap to the Sedins, because when I say they dominated, they dominated. Travis Green made sure to get them on the ice at every opportunity and they each played over 21 minutes. Daniel had 10 shots on goal himself and shot attempts were 24-9 for the Canucks when both Sedins were on the ice at 5-on-5.
Stick-tap to the Canucks’ arena presentation crew, who put together a first class evening, from the pre-game video featuring several former Sedin teammates to the Viking Clap to kick off the third period. It never felt over-the-top, but struck just the right tone and contributed to a great atmosphere in the rink.
The crowd at Rogers Arena gets a stick-tap, as they cheered like it was a playoff game. Every time the Sedins hit the ice, there was a loud ovation and when Daniel scored, each time it felt like the roof was going to come off or my eardrums were going to burst. Whichever came first.
Speaking of the crowd, a tap of the stick to whoever won the 50/50, netting themselves a cool $507,278. I can’t find a way to confirm this definitively, but I believe that is a record for a 50/50 jackpot.
Time for a pinch of negativity: I’m dropping the gloves with Nikolay Goldobin and Derrick Pouliot on the opening goal. Goldobin tried a risky pass along the blue line to an inattentive Derrick Pouliot. The puck slipped past Pouliot, who took too long to recognize the risk and couldn’t get back quickly enough to prevent Christian Fischer from getting a breakaway. A quick move to the forehand and it was 1-0 Arizona.
Daniel and Henrik Sedin get more stick-taps for tying up the game in classic Sedin fashion, with a lovely passing play. It was magical seeing Daniel score a goal from Henrik in their final home game and even better to have Edler involved in the play. Henrik agreed that Edler has always been the unofficial third Sedin and he showed why.
A tap of the stick to Alex Edler, who shouldn’t get lost in the shuffle in the hype of Daniel scoring a goal assisted by Henrik. Edler smartly jumped up the middle as Henrik cut in off the boards, took Henrik’s pass, then fooled everyone by following the Third Law of Sedinery http://passittobulis.blogspot.ca/search/label/Laws%20of%20Sedinery and making one more pass than was strictly necessary. His backhand pass from in front of the net gave Daniel Sedin a wide-open cage to fill.
Though he had a strong game offensively with the twins, Sam Gagner gets the gloves dropped for his defensive work. To be fair, on the 2-1 goal, things got a bit chaotic in front of the net, but the goal-scorer, Derek Stepan, was Gagner’s to pick up, and he realized a little too late and could only stretch out his stick and fall to the ice.
I don’t feel right dropping the gloves with Alex Biega when the Coyotes made it 3-1, as it really seemed more like bad luck. Biega got his stick in to block a Max Domi shot, then looked for where the puck had gone. Unfortunately, it landed right behind him, where Dylan Strome found it and whipped it past Markstrom.
Stick-tap to the Canucks in the third period, who were determined to come back and give the Sedins the send-off they deserve. The Canucks out-shot the Coyotes 15-0 in the final 20 minutes of regulation. Yes, that’s zero shots on goal for the Coyotes. Zero. With the energy in the building and the determination on the ice, there was no doubt that the Canucks were coming back in this one.
A tap of the stick to Jake Virtanen, who got the comeback started by wiring a wristshot top corner off a Bo Horvat faceoff win. It was a fantastic shot that even popped the water bottle out of its holder on the back of the net. What a bullet.
Big stick-tap to Brendan Leipsic for breaking out a highlight reel spinorama to even the score at 3-3 in the third period. The crowd erupted as Leipsic skated in on the right wing, but it looked like the opportunity would be snuffed out by a backchecking Coyote. Instead, Leipsic got a little Savardian, spinning around to the backhand and beating Darcy Kuemper under the blocker.
One last tap of the stick for Daniel and Henrik, who combined for the overtime winner on a 4-on-3 power play. They threw the puck around the zone, looking for a great passing play, until Daniel decided he was just going to blast the puck in, sending a slap shot soaring past Kuemper. The crowd exploded, the Canucks came pouring off the bench, and the arena got really, really dusty for some reason.
Finally, a tap of the stick to John Garrett and John Shorthouse for naming just one star after the game, shared by both Daniel and Henrik. It’s cheesy as all get out, but let’s be honest, Garrett really, really likes cheese.
