When the Detroit Red Wings won over the Vancouver Canucks this weekend, Jake Walman stole the show hitting the gritty dance move after his OT winner on Saturday.
The Griddy is an often-used celebration in NFL, NBA, and even soccer, but it’s not often we see it in the NHL, and many thought it was too much, mocking the Canucks.
Nikita Zadorov earned a two-game suspension for a hit on Lucas Raymond in the very same game, but he was back on the ice when the Canucks were seeking revenge on the Red Wings, and especially Walkman. And it was obvious they really wanted it.
Elias Pettersson caught Walman with a high stick on a backhand follow-through, and not long after, Nils Hollander caught him as well.
The referee didn’t call the play, and Walman had a freakout, screaming at the referees from the bench and even slamming his stick in anger.
Nikita Zodorov responded perfectly. As Walman complained to the refs, Zodorov mocked the defenseman by doing the griddy dance move, and shortly after, the Canucks scored to make it 4-1.
The game had a playoff vibe to it, with high intensity and a perfect mockery from Zadorov. Postgame, Zadorov, who also scored in his return from the suspension, had a hilarious quote about it.
“I’m not as good as the guys in red at doing that,” he said.
On social media, Zadorov received praise for his hilarious move, with many claiming other teams—looking at you, Toronto—have something to learn.
”See? This is how you settle these things. Not with blatant cross checks to the face. With accidental high sticks and revenge dances. Morgan Reilly has a lot to learn,” Wyatt Arndt said on Twitter.
”Zadorov mocking Walman with the Griddy after his freakouts is how you grow the game. We need more of this stuff. Great entertainment,” Canucks writer Grady Sas said.
