Welcome back to Instant Reaciton — the series here at CanucksArmy where we give you our instant reaction to the game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below! Wyatt Arndt is on Stanchies duty and Mike Liu will have The Statsies — CA’s analytics-based post game report — up tomorrow morning!
The Red Wings&#8217; forecheck was so strong to start this game, and it was very interesting to see how the Canucks&#8217; defencemen handled that pressure. The short answer was that they handled it admirably and, as Rick Tocchet might say, met pressure with pressure.
The Canucks transitioned the puck up with speed, which caused Detroit to be back on their heels a bit. Even better, the Canucks got the puck deep and answered with an overwhelming forecheck of their own. Now, Detroit&#8217;s back end isn&#8217;t filled with the best puck movers, so pressure like that often leads to mistakes from the defencemen. And on the Canucks&#8217; first goal, it was Jeff Petry making the mistake.
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J.T. Miller opens the scoring! 
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/oPY8lbYsiQ">pic.twitter.com/oPY8lbYsiQ</a>
&mdash; CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1758331100831637778?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Even Luca Sbisa sees that turnover and wonders how an NHL defenceman made that play.
You could say that the only thing worse than Detroit&#8217;s defence is their goaltending. This goal from Elias Lindholm &#8212; his third as a Canuck &#8212; on just the Canucks&#8217; fourth shot of the game is the reason you could say that.
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Elias Lindholm scores his first goal as a Canuck on Rogers Arena ice! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LGRW?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LGRW</a> 🎥: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/g0MeVyEvGG">pic.twitter.com/g0MeVyEvGG</a>
&mdash; CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1758331782527656362?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2024</a></blockquote>
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The biggest story from the first wasn&#8217;t the goals, and it wasn&#8217;t even the Canucks&#8217; pressure on the forecheck. No, the story of the first was Noah Juulsen.
Juulsen logged one more minute than Quinn Hughes in the first period, and in the minutes that he played, he was making great plays all over the ice, continuing his run of strong play over the last few games.
If there was a &#8220;most improved&#8221; Canucks team award, Noah Juulsen would be the heavy favourite for it right now. He might even be making his case for the Unsung Hero award with the way he&#8217;s been playing lately. Watch this montage.
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Noah Juulsen was a beast in the first period <a href="https://twitter.com/QuadrelliD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@QuadrelliD</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LGRW?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LGRW</a> 🎥: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/qAI5sNPqtR">pic.twitter.com/qAI5sNPqtR</a>
&mdash; CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1758341303966847296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2024</a></blockquote>
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There&#8217;s shot blocks, smart defending with both stick and body positioning, a slap pass, and more shot blocks. That was an excellent opening 20 minutes of play for Noah Juulsen &#8212; par for the course with how he&#8217;s been playing lately.
I sometimes get an early look at The Stanchies and can tell you that Wyatt will be bringing the heat tonight when it comes to breaking down what Juulsen is doing to find success right now.
The second period of this game was scrambly, but also action-packed. We saw Thatcher Demko make some phenomenal saves:
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Thatcher Demko makes a ridiculous save! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LGRW?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LGRW</a> 🎥: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/9zwJSgCEuh">pic.twitter.com/9zwJSgCEuh</a>
&mdash; CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1758344243205050371?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2024</a></blockquote>
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And of course, we also saw some weak-looking shots make their way through traffic and beat Wings goaltender Alex Lyon:
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Nikita Zadorov scores his first goal as a Vancouver Canuck! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LGRW?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LGRW</a> 🎥: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/JvmA5bdkPi">pic.twitter.com/JvmA5bdkPi</a>
&mdash; CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1758346882026238187?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2024</a></blockquote>
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In the third, we saw a strong contender for the worst slashing penalty of all time called against Quinn Hughes:
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Here is where the NHL officiating is absolute garbage.
They don&#39;t call the shove on Hughes that led to the Detroit goal? Fine. Letting things go.
But then you turn around and call his?
Officials are a joke. They deserve to be called out every night. <a href="https://t.co/FgwH0rjLsO">pic.twitter.com/FgwH0rjLsO</a>
&mdash; Wyatt Arndt (@TheStanchion) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheStanchion/status/1758354988152340526?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2024</a></blockquote>
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But it wasn&#8217;t just the bad call. There were some non-calls that were just silly. This one against Quinn Hughes being the most egregious:
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Remember this wasn&#39;t tripping but what Blueger did was <a href="https://t.co/lUvcocoS2J">pic.twitter.com/lUvcocoS2J</a>
&mdash; Wyatt Arndt (@TheStanchion) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheStanchion/status/1758356757662044464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Of course, we all know why this wasn&#8217;t called &#8212; because the Canucks were already on a power play, and as we all know, breaking the rules is fine when one of your teammates is already being punished for breaking one of the rules.
This game&#8217;s intensity level picked up big time in the third. A storyline heading into this game was if the Canucks would have any response to Jake Walman hitting the griddy dance move after his OT winner on Saturday. As it turns out, the Canucks&#8217; strategy was to play hard &#8212; and to high stick Walman. Elias Pettersson caught Walman up high on a backhand follow through, and Nils Höglander caught him later. When Walman complained to the refs, Nikita Zadorov mocked the Wings defenceman&#8217;s goal celebration, and shortly after, the Canucks went up 4-1.
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Nikita Zadorov hits the griddy while Jake Walman complains to the refs 😂<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LGRW?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LGRW</a> 📽️: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/tr3vnvEwQk">pic.twitter.com/tr3vnvEwQk</a>
&mdash; CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1758359631917719624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2024</a></blockquote>
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It&#8217;s safe to say the Canucks got the last laugh here in a game that quickly felt like it had a playoff flavour to it. Elias Lindholm scored his second goal of the game, and that was just about all she wrote.
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Elias Lindholm scores his second goal of the game! 🚨
4-1 Canucks! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LGRW?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LGRW</a> 📽️: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/Lm1cYUpOq1">pic.twitter.com/Lm1cYUpOq1</a>
&mdash; CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1758360704107663382?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Tonight was one of the Canucks&#8217; most complete victories of the season, and was a ton of fun. If this was a glimpse of what playoff hockey will be like, you have to like what you saw from the Canucks &#8212; especially Nikita Zadorov.
What&#8217;s your instant reaction to tonight&#8217;s game? Let us know in the comments section below!

Welcome back to Instant Reaciton — the series here at CanucksArmy where we give you our instant reaction to the game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below! Wyatt Arndt is on Stanchies duty and Mike Liu will have The Statsies — CA’s analytics-based post game report — up tomorrow morning!

The Red Wings' forecheck was so strong to start this game, and it was very interesting to see how the Canucks' defencemen handled that pressure. The short answer was that they handled it admirably and, as Rick Tocchet might say, met pressure with pressure.

The Canucks transitioned the puck up with speed, which caused Detroit to be back on their heels a bit. Even better, the Canucks got the puck deep and answered with an overwhelming forecheck of their own. Now, Detroit's back end isn't filled with the best puck movers, so pressure like that often leads to mistakes from the defencemen. And on the Canucks' first goal, it was Jeff Petry making the mistake.

https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1758331100831637778

Even Luca Sbisa sees that turnover and wonders how an NHL defenceman made that play.

You could say that the only thing worse than Detroit's defence is their goaltending. This goal from Elias Lindholm -- his third as a Canuck -- on just the Canucks' fourth shot of the game is the reason you could say that.

https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1758331782527656362

The biggest story from the first wasn't the goals, and it wasn't even the Canucks' pressure on the forecheck. No, the story of the first was Noah Juulsen.

Juulsen logged one more minute than Quinn Hughes in the first period, and in the minutes that he played, he was making great plays all over the ice, continuing his run of strong play over the last few games.

If there was a "most improved" Canucks team award, Noah Juulsen would be the heavy favourite for it right now. He might even be making his case for the Unsung Hero award with the way he's been playing lately. Watch this montage.

https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1758341303966847296

There's shot blocks, smart defending with both stick and body positioning, a slap pass, and more shot blocks. That was an excellent opening 20 minutes of play for Noah Juulsen -- par for the course with how he's been playing lately.

I sometimes get an early look at The Stanchies and can tell you that Wyatt will be bringing the heat tonight when it comes to breaking down what Juulsen is doing to find success right now.

The second period of this game was scrambly, but also action-packed. We saw Thatcher Demko make some phenomenal saves:

https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1758344243205050371

And of course, we also saw some weak-looking shots make their way through traffic and beat Wings goaltender Alex Lyon:

https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1758346882026238187

In the third, we saw a strong contender for the worst slashing penalty of all time called against Quinn Hughes:

https://twitter.com/TheStanchion/status/1758354988152340526

But it wasn't just the bad call. There were some non-calls that were just silly. This one against Quinn Hughes being the most egregious:

https://twitter.com/TheStanchion/status/1758356757662044464

Of course, we all know why this wasn't called -- because the Canucks were already on a power play, and as we all know, breaking the rules is fine when one of your teammates is already being punished for breaking one of the rules.

This game's intensity level picked up big time in the third. A storyline heading into this game was if the Canucks would have any response to Jake Walman hitting the griddy dance move after his OT winner on Saturday. As it turns out, the Canucks' strategy was to play hard -- and to high stick Walman. Elias Pettersson caught Walman up high on a backhand follow through, and Nils Höglander caught him later. When Walman complained to the refs, Nikita Zadorov mocked the Wings defenceman's goal celebration, and shortly after, the Canucks went up 4-1.

https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1758359631917719624

It's safe to say the Canucks got the last laugh here in a game that quickly felt like it had a playoff flavour to it. Elias Lindholm scored his second goal of the game, and that was just about all she wrote.

https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1758360704107663382

Tonight was one of the Canucks' most complete victories of the season, and was a ton of fun. If this was a glimpse of what playoff hockey will be like, you have to like what you saw from the Canucks -- especially Nikita Zadorov.

What's your instant reaction to tonight's game? Let us know in the comments section below!

Instant Reaction: Nikita Zadorov hits the griddy on Jake Walman as Canucks beat Red Wings 4-1

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