RECAP: NUCKS WIN!!! (Really) ShootOut Kings 3-2

What a difference a young elite talent inserted into the line up can make. Who knew?

We did. Petey taught us that at the beginning of the season. Now, Quinn is showing us in his first NHL game at the season end.

Not saying he’s our best D-man, but after a couple more games...well...

Hughes did not look out of place from the get go. It was great that he had Schenn as his partner. And Quinn made Schenn look better too.

Will Quinn be our Paul Coffey? After 15:36 of ice time, pretty sure we can reach up and jump on that conclusion.

Ready for this Quinntessential debut?

1st Period

The Nucks start with their traditional home hospitality. Spot the Kings a goal on some sloppy defensive coverage.

Oh well. It’s just one goal. That’s only an insurmountable lead against more fowl opponents.

There were a few sighs and grumbles in the game thread about Demko’s readiness in these last few crucially meaningless games.

Doesn’t matter. What matters is what happens in the next period. Because... HISTORY!

2nd Period

Having skipped the boring intermission, we’re ready to recap some more.

And skip right to the historic moments.

The legendary Nucks PP is facing off in the O-zone. Bo, the FO monster, wins the draw, Pete tweaks it back to Eddie. And Eddie scores for a Canucks record.

Not only is the game tied and soon to be won, Eddie has surpassed Ohlund’s record for the most goals scored by a Nucks D.

The media said it was his his 94th goal as a Canuck. We’re pretty sure they meant 940th...but we won’t quibble about decimal places.

But wait! There’s more Canucks history happening in the ROG!

While Eddie represents the last of the last SCF Nucks crew, number 43 will be on the new SCF Nucks crew.

Quinn’s 1st NHL game, his 1st NHL point on a dazzling shift of elite Quinning puckery.

What moves, poise, confidence, skill. Do we get to keep him? Let’s ask JB to make it so.

LA reacts with goonery, because... LA. Schenn jumped on the cheapshot Kings just after the goal. No liberties on Quinn will be permitted on his watch.

Imagine Dekey Pete, Quinn and Brock going 3 on 3 in OT.

Too bad the Nucks have already won the game, that would be so fun to watch. Maybe we could have LA accidently force OT, just for our vicarious entertainment.

3rd Period

Ask not what the Kings can do for you, ask what Loui can do to help the Kings help us get our OT thrills.

Weak or unlucky (or both) clear from the $6M enigma and our OT dreams come true.

There’s some more 5 on 5, but we’ve been granted our wish for 3 on 3 with Quinn, Pete & Brock.

OT

The period we’ve been waiting for, because we’re greedy for speedy Quinnery. And it was delivered. A couple of oh so shifty shifts. You can view one of them in the vid recap below.

It was almost inevitable that the PQB line would score...instead, the refs decided that diving will decide the game. Eddie gets 2 minutes for mild interference on Kopi. And Kopi gets a 9.8 from the East LA judge. Crap.

The OT fun is over. For almost a minute plus we have to watch the ponderous LA 4-on-3 attempt to ruin our historic evening. Their attempt were thwarted.

Now it’s time for some poetic payback. Shootout style.

SO

We expect Pete and Quinn to win the game, but the Spurned-Player Justice League has as an even better winning goal planned.

Pearson was the only player permitted by the ShootOut Poetry Society to score.

Quick knows how this guy shoots. The ROG was worried. Quick had stopped Pete, Brock and Quinn.

Pearson wants to show his former teammate that he doesn’t know the new Pearson 2.0

It’s the GWG! Quick is angry. The ROG is happy!

The Nucks win a hockey game! Set a franchise record! Set our hearts a-flutter with the smooth Hughes moves. We can believe in the future again. Let’s start next season now!

Take a few minutes to soak up the win as called by the 2 Johns.

WINNNNING STATS

HISTORIC STATS

What a fun game to watch. Other than those moments where it wasn’t. Like when Bulldog put the puck over the glass and we had to wait for the LA futile PP to grind some futility off the clock.

So fun watching Quinn in his first game make smart plays. Make sneaky high skill plays. The Nucks D-Rebuild starts now.

Let’s hear from our new D-phenom.

But first, let’s watch his sick self-passing behind the net again. And Brock’s sweet falling-down snipe.

More confident? That could inspire confidence in Nucks fans. And when that happens, anything is possible. Other than free rum in tropical hockey bars.

Demko redemption night in Canada. First time in an NHL shootout. Stopped them all.

Let’s hear from the game’s 1st star and the highest scoring D-man in Nucks history.

Is Eddie in a contract year? Sure seems like it. Pretty sure JB can bring him back with a 5 year NMC extension. Which is like a NM extension, but more costly.

Over in the Green Room, the mood is a seller’s market.

While it was a meaningless game, the win wasn’t without some meaning for a future Nucks roster that will be exciting to watch. And not the usual penned-in-our-end excitement either. Hughes has the skill to move the puck up to the far more exciting end more often.

Can you imagine next season or the one after the lockout, when the hockey analysts are gushing over how the Nucks have become an analytic darling for possession?

Whatever we can imagine, expect the young guys will exceed expectations. No pressure tho. We can wait. 2 or 3 seasons. At least.

Oh..a Baking announcement: Want more awards on Quinn’s CV? You can help.

Beating the worst team in the West may not be the greatest victory of the year. It just felt like it. And unlike the previous pond hockey game with the saggy middle bit, the Never Quit Canucks didn’t.

The ROG was electric when Quinn was on the ice. We’ve been spoiled with two amazing rookie debuts this season. Maybe JB can rebuild through the draft after all.

Let’s enjoy our regularly scheduled victory for another day or so. On Saturday, the easy games end and no-rules playoff hockey returns. The Stars are in town to take our fun away. Let’s keep the rookie light shining bright for another week. At least.

Enjoy your fab Friday and get ready for sassy upset Saturday.