RECAP: MARKY & NUCKS WIN! A Shutout and OT. Break the Canes 1-0

All through out the house, in all the NucksNation houses, the tension was building. Building on the pivot point of the season. Some say that a single game doesn’t make or break playoff chances. Not us. We knew that our only hope to keep the faint hopes alive for May hockey depended on the Nucks winning this game.

Do I have to explain why? No? Good.

That last wild spot on the cards will depend on a few points. Better to collect them now at home, than next spring on the couch.

The Canes are a pretty good team. On a 3 game win streak. The Nucks are on a 1 game L-streak thanks to [redacted].

Ergo: MUST-WIN game. Losing 2 games in a row at home, is more than even the infinitely patient NM can endure. Can’t put that type of patience to the test. Nobody has time for it.

With so much on the line, some were wondering if Bo will score in the ROG this year. Bo likes to keep you wondering.

1st Period

The Nucks start the 1st period. That’s always a good sign. Even better, the chippy Canes take an early penalty. Even worse, the Canes PK looks far more dangerous than the out-pressured Nucks 1st unit.

Fortunately the Nucks don’t draw another penalty for almost 10 minutes. And when they do, the game thread was there to spot the nasal issues.

Ew

Stinky PP - Chicky

With that stench clearly isolated, the Nucks special team can move to the next ineffective PP.

This may be the PP

Where I start screeching at the TV if they don’t score - Chicky

The game thread plugged their ears as the Nucks went 0 for 3 on the PP. Almost seemed at this point, even if a Nuck was high-sticked with blood on the lip, the refs didn’t want the 1st unit to embarrass themselves anymore. So.... Benn went to the dressing room for intermission with a freshly fat lip.

While the Nucks may not have held the edge 5 on 5, or scored any goals on the PP, or scored any goals at all, Marky played great. We didn’t know then what we know now tho. Marky came to win, where many Nucks came to watch Marky. Win!

The Canes outshot the Must-Win hosts 8-5.

2nd Period

The Canucks start the 2nd period. That’s good. They didn’t leave the ROG to get the early answer to questions we weren’t prepared to ask.

What wasn’t so good, was the Nucks even strength play. Constantly out-worked, out-puck-battled and out-chanced.

The solution? Put the legendary Nucks PK to work.

And they did. The ever helpful refs are going to make up for not giving the Canes any PP time in the 1st. That’s thoughtful.

Rooooose goes to the box to watch the legend unfold again in the ROG. If you guessed the best player on the Nucks PK was Marky, you would be a good guesser.

So impressive was the Nucks PK, they were called back for a repeat performance barely a minute later on a delayed call. And the legend continued, successfully. If you guessed the best player on the Nucks PK was Marky, you would be an even better guesser.

Not that the Nucks didn’t have their chances. The refs even granted them a 4th PP to demonstrate the refs’ confidence in the Canes’ PK.

In the last minute, Myers, an important part of the Nucks PK, takes a lazy high sticking penalty - somebody must cover Loui’s stats. Doesn’t matter. The legend continues. The Marquis de Save legend.

The Canes, with the great makeup sex-y power-plays, out shoot the Nucks 22-7. Marky stopped over 3 times as many shots as the vowel-challenged Mrazek.

Game thread noted the amazing tending.

Marky Is the only reason they’re not being hammered 6-0 right now. He’s been steady all night. - Chicky

Marky was swallowing up so many pucks, the league worried about a rubber shortage.

3rd Period

The Nucks start the 3rd period. After a good talking to from the game thread.

hey better do something special in the 3rd

because Markstrom deserves a hell of a lot better than they’ve shown him tonight. And with Calgary and Arizona winning tonight, they cannot afford to fall further behind. - Kent

And the Nucks listened. To Kent. Or possibly Travis. We’re not sure.

Whoever put the bug in their shot clockers, the Nucks played their best period so far. Which wasn’t too hard to do. Unless you were the 2nd period Nucks, then it was the hardest thing.

No matter. The Nucks are pressing and getting their best chances of the game. The Canes are pressing and getting their usual great chances of the game.

Both goalies are playing for the next Marvel super hero role. But there’s only one leading character.

And no one deserves keep their shutout more than Marky. From the statistics - Marky has stopped 42 shots at the end of the 3rd vs the vowel-limited Canes’ stopper’s 24. Basically Marky has been twice as good so far.

It’s a nothing nothing tie after 3. And everything to must win for.

OT

Having claimed at least a point for Marky’s best performance of the year, possibly his career, the Nucks, especially Brock are determined to ensure Marky gets the SO and the Nucks get the win. On a dropped stick play (think that’s the technical term), Brock is the most persistent puck hound on the ice.

He retrieves the puck from the boards while wearing a couple Canes jerseys and makes the famous dropped-stick pass to Pete. Who roofs it on Petr, the vowel-deprived goalie.

Woooooooooooooooo!!!

A game the Nucks didn’t deserve to win. But Marky won it for them anyways. Also it’s the first no-score-through 3 periods game the Nucks have won this season. That’s what a must-win win looks like.

The 2 Johns describe the amazing performance of the Marquis de Save

GAME STATS (Count all those goals!)

	SOG	FO%	PP	PIM	HITS	BLKS	GVA
Hurricanes CAR	43	55%	0/4	10	13	6	5
Canucks VAN	26	45%	0/5	8	15	13	7

PLAYER STATS (No one with a minus +/-)

43 save shutout. Wow! Very few Nucks goalies in history have had a shutout with that many saves. It was a Marquis performance indeed.

Let’s hear from the game’s 1st star about a must-win won.

The game’s only goal scorer goes one on many. Now with 100 NHL points!

Over in the ‘Dialed In’ Green room, Travis liked the test results.

That was an intense game for a no-score show. Also, kudos to the game thread for not tempting the shut out curse. Probably because we expected it to end 5-0. For the big strong Hurricanes.

Amazing performance from Marky. Which we will all remember.

For days. 2 days. Then it’s back to the road grind with a B-2-B against the Sharkies and Vegas, baby. With the one game win steak restored, we’d like it extended for the holiday giving season. Just win all the remaining games of the year, please. And keep it streaking in to 2020.