RECAP: NUCKS WIN! A Motte Trick (almost) - Rip the Rags 4-1 in the ROG

This was a Nucks must-win game. As every game against the Rags since ‘94 (or earlier) must be.

Perhaps Green knew the importance of this game. Sure, not as important as the most important game of the year, but Yankee Canuck might argue it was more important. If he ever felt like sprucing up the NM game thread cappuccino bar again.

Anyway, Green must have felt some need to make the most drastic roster change of the year.

He sat Loui.

No, really. Our highest paid player was a healthy scratch. And the Nucks looked like a better team for it up front. But, Travis the Terrible wasn’t finished making cuts (as NM advised him to months ago), he sat Poolie.

It’s the new look Canucks ready to battle the we-have-all-the-picks-now Rangers.

Ok, that’s not exactly true. It’s not fresh new Hughes look Nucks. Quinn had his MRI and as a reward must wear a walking-boot for a week. Some say that’s just normal Nucks defender hazing ritual. Others say it just sucks.

Still, according to league rules, the game must go on. Fortunately, just for the full 60.

1st Period

It’s a scrappy game. A meaningless pre-season game played far too late. The new Poolie-free Nucks D-corp were keeping the poor clearing waters wet and splashy.

From the game thread, tribute was being paid to the little things:

Pouliot isn’t playing

So everyone on the ice is giving tributes to him with their awful passes.

Twitchy2010

Westy stated (correctly), that:

Tributes

should wait until after he leaves the team

Through the full 20 minutes of scrappy hockey, the Nucks outshot the Rags 9-8. And the two Swedish goalies, King Henrik and the Marquis De Save kept all errant, accidental or deliberate shots from violating their regal creases.

Or in hockey talk, game was tied 0-0 after 1.

2nd Period

It’s a chippy game. And then it gets fugly. Kreider takes a cheapshot on Petey behind the Nucks net with an elbow to the face. FFS!

With Petey on the ice grasping his face, the ROG was gasping, the game thread was spewing bad words. And worse thoughts.

Kreid was whisked off the ice by the refs to serve his Game Misconduct before Brock could enforce the new no cheapshots on Pete rule. The Flow will have to seek other means of retribution.

Pete had to go to the dressing room for repairs and quiet room protocol, so he misses his chance on the 5 minute power play. Not Hot Shot Brock. Burns the King off a sweet not-looking-at-you pass from Leivo.

It’s a MIRACLE! It’s a power play goal! Some might gripe about having 5 minutes on the man-advantage and potting only one goal on 4 shots. Some are going to be even more disappointed later.

The Nucks are leading 1-0 in the 1st 2nd period! Not only did they score a goal on the PP, they didn’t allow a shortie. That’s like scoring 2 in the New Nucks Math.

But wait! There’s more Nucks goals! And more Rags Game Misconducts!

This strange game is going to the weird and wonderful (and then terrible) zone real fast.

Eddie springs Motte on a stretch pass and Motte swoops into the throne zone and dekes the King for a dekey goal.

It’s 2 nothing Nucks! Just 11 seconds later, before the game thread can be restrained in their passive-aggressive restraint chairs, Motte is on the board again with a wicked top corner shot.

Roussel gets the assist - a brutal sacrifice just for an apple.

Motte now holds the Nucks record for the 2nd fastest pair of goals in the entire Nucks legacy. Gerry O’Flaherty scored 2 goals for the Nucks in 9 seconds against the Flames on March 15, 1974. Different Flames, different era. The seconds were longer back then.

The game thread is getting beMotted with new nicknames for Tyler:

Tyler

MotteDavid

Mottsby? Mottevetchkin?

Twitchy2010

The crowd fav one was:

Mottegilny

Posted by Angelous

I chirped in with Mottechessault, but realised it was too soon, too late.

As great as it was for Motte to get his 8th and 9th goals on the year, it was Roussel’s last point of the season. Ugh. Rousell was blind-sided by Lemieux and fell awkwardly. Lemieux got 5 and a game Misconduct for hitting a good guy while he’s falling.

This means another 5 minute PP for the hungry Nucks power play. Except it appears they’re sated. Not everyone in the game thread is so satisfied. But, NM game threads aren’t so much about satisfaction as much as about living to survive another game thread. Or something.

Thanks to the shot-happy Nucks PP, the Nucks outshot the Raggedy strangers 14-7. With 10 minutes of man-advantage, even the Nucks can run the shot count into double digits in one period.

Anyhow the Nucks have a commanding 3-0 lead after 2. How often have they commanded a lead going into the 3rd this past month of the living Faeries? Correct. Not nearly enough.

3rd Period

Commanding a lead. Marky playing Swedish Heir-Apparent with only one more period of non-stop stopping to complete. What to do?

Preserve the SO for Marky? Give a pathetic power play a chance at goal-getting glory?

Of course, the hospitable Canucks (the ones not in the hospital) offer a 5 on 3 to the undeserving strangers. How?

First Leivo returns the cross-check-to-the-ribs to Namestnikov. Then on the PK, Stetch takes a (weak) game managing holding call.

The Nucks perfect PK kills the 5-on-3 and then doesn’t kill the 5-on-4. The rest as they say, is another stain on Marky’s SO resume. Dammit.

Oh well. The commanding lead is dropped to a lower rank, but still leads.

Besides, we’ve already won. Pete is back to play in the 3rd. We’ve already won again. Twice.

Then with 3 minutes remaining, NY pulls the King and the Nucks do all they can to get Motte the hattie and make my recap title great again.

While the Rags frustrate that noble goal, Jake breaks the fake comeback into a 4-1 Nucks lead with the EN.

Wooooo! We win a game! In regulation!

Those horrible Stolen-K losses that will remain forgotten, have slipped our minds and we’re back in the big-brain one game win streak of WINNING!

Let’s sit back and let the 2 Johns re-tell the tale of victory (and its sacrifices).

Rags to Riches Stats

Mottely Crew Stats

Pete was back on the ice late and giving out worry-free words.

Pete was held pointless and shotless with only a nosebleed to show for it. Although he did send a lightspeed shot over the net and melted the glass and timeline in the ROG. But, he’s gone 11 games without a goal. Is it more frustrating for us or for him? No worries. A little adversity is good for a superstar rookie. It is isn’t it?

Battle Level Brock.

Mottesky is happy to recall his last 2 goal game.

Over in the Green Room, it’s bad news Rous, tough news Hughes and strange times in the ROG.

And more bad Faery news...(when is there good Faery news?)

Tough stretch run game with nothing to play for. Except beating NY. That’s pretty much everything when there’s nothing on the line.

Next up, more nothing on the line, but getting more rookies in the lineup. And wins on the streak. Friday, it’s another leftover team from the east, but those little Devils can be trixie. Just beat ‘that 80s team’ to end their 7 game losing streak.

Which means they’ll be ready to start a fresh loss streak in the ROG. The Nucks can help.

Enjoy your most important Thursday of the week and keep your feet out of your mouth for Famous Last Words Friday.