Article content continued

Dorsett also helped hold the Oilers to one power play goal while logging a whopping 17:20 of ice time, the most since his 19:29 with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Feb. 2, 2013 against the Detroit Red Wings.

“We wanted to play him hard,” Dorsett said of McDavid, who was run and tied up by the winger in the neutral zone and held to just two shots. “We finished on him so he didn’t get past us with speed.

“We played with a lot of energy and spunk. We want to be harder to play against. That’s not fighting. That’s being heavy on the puck and finishing checks.”

All that just makes Dorsett’s revival more amazing.

Cervical fusion surgery last December in Los Angeles shut down his season. It led to a long and arduous rehab and widespread wonderment of what the Canucks could still get out of a guy with two years left on his contract at $2.65 million US annually.

It wasn’t just that the C5 and C6 vertebrae were fused, bone spurs shaved and a bulging disc removed and replaced by a plastic spacer and bone marrow from Dorsett’s hip. He had hip and hernia problems dating back to the 2015 playoff series with the Calgary Flames.

Now he’s healthy, happier and faster and focused to be more than a roster option.

“There are times in your career where you have to find a way to keep yourself relevant,” added Dorsett. “I’ve tried my whole career to not pigeonhole myself and just be a scrapper and energy guy.

“I’m a fan of the game. I watched five or six games Saturday, watched the penalty kill and what wingers are doing throughout the league just to improve myself.