Conference Semi-Final Game 4 RECAP: NUCKS WIN! 2 Periods. Lose Game 5-3.

Better game than last night? Yes.

Better result? Uh... no.

Ugh.

Oh well... can’t win every game against Lossy Wages.

We were kinda hoping they could win more than one game. But, let’s just focus on that one huge win. It was so good.

And for 2 periods the Nucks were looking very good against the better team.

The Stolen Nighties are built to win now. The Nucks are built to win tomorrow. Or Tuesday. That would be good too.

This is a back-to-back game, which we know, is never kind to the Nucks. And Marky.

How unkind will this one be? Let’s find out. If we have to.

1st Period

Good news to start, Myers is back on the ice and we’re hoping he’ll run over all the Nighties.

Bad news is the Golden Blightlies get the first PP and goal of the game.

The game thread is twitching with that first goal omen.

If the Canucks don’t score first

will they be shutout? — Westy

There is nothing like an Alien busting the first-goal-wins-the-so theorem.

The Nucks get their own PP. And in this game the Nucks PP is a different phenomena. A cold calculating Alien scoring phenom.

He had so much time. He knows he can beat any goalie, so he knows he just needs to eliminate random chances, which he did by waiting a second and making certain of what he was going to do.

Petey is so freaking smart lol — radivel

No getting shuttered out tonight! Nooo Way!!! We can win this.

And then, of course, The Grim Reaver crushes Huggy on the boards - no call, of course - and the puck is up the ice and behind Marky before the game thread could scream “gap coverage!”

Also... Marky didn’t look sharp on that one. Not a McSoftie tho. We’ll get to that (those) later.

No biggie. Weggies are only up a goal and the game thread isn’t worried at all.

We may be down by 1

but we look way better than last game. — Twitchy

Shots are even with Vancouver with 8 and Vegans, 11.

2nd Period

Ok... it’s the 2nd period and the Gollum Nights are brutal to play against in the 2nd when they have a lead. Cue Game 1 and 3 tape. No... don’t do that. We’re in the middle(end) of a bonus series, let’s not ruin it.

Besides, the Nucks are playing house money forecheck style in Vegas. And winning.

The pass comes back to the Eddie who gets it on net and Capt’n Bo smacks it past Flower.

WOOOO HORVAT

Good effort for in the o zone for once. — Twitchy

Bo’s line has done well

to throw their weight around. — Westy

And then our fav Marky saves the game, the tie.

Good to see

game thief marky back tonight. — Twitchy

But let’s not dwell on the thief in the nighties metaphor.

Because the Nucks are going to break the house. In the 2nd period.

Finally, a non-smothered Huggy on the PP gets his wheels on and dishes to Toff who de-Flowers the Vegas net.

Wooooooooooooo!!! Nucks have the lead. Stop the game now!

Again the Nucks win the shot count 12 to 14.

And so, so much better, the Nucks are leading 3-2. After 2. Leading!

3rd Period

To start the period the Nucks have a 1 goal lead, the unsafest lead in hockey.

fuck

Marky let in a very non marky goal. Refs don’t call an obvious holding against gauds, leads to a goal. — Twitchy

On any other night, when Marky can see the shot from the point, he stops it. Except on the tired back of some B-2-B nights.

Oh well. It’s a tie game. Nucks can tough it out and Tanev can win in OT.

Or not.

Jake had the game on his stick. Sweet juicy chance to beat Flower and put the game away. But, the game went the other way. Which we call the wrong way.

The Nucks puck luck didn’t leave the dressing room after the 2nd.

But the lucky strikers from the neon desert get a lucky bounce off Patches skate. And the game lead has changed again. Not a change we want to believe in.

boo

I want good marky back. Would be nice if we could do both offensive and defensive plays in the same sequence one time… — Twitchy

Also... the Nucks look gassed.

4 line Vegas has fresher legs — Westy

2.8 line Nucks aren’t so fresh. Especially one-armed Myers. Who really shouldn’t be playing yet, but he played well for 40 minutes. But now into the 50th minute, he loses his guy. And his guy scores the dagger.

Oh well... the Nucks get a late power play that morphs into an EN 6-on-4. And doesn’t score to half tie.

Nucks lead 3-2 after 2, but follow 5-3 after 3.

Since I’m still stinging from the disappointment of the game that got away, the game thread covers my achy breaky ass. Again.

Canucks played fairly well, but for a spell in the 3rd

They actually had sustained time in the O-Zone from all four lines, Petey played great.

But Boeser is snakebit (and been ruined by overcoaching from Green and just plain injury), Gauds is not getting it done despite effort, Sutter’s shot has deserted him, and Marky’s wall finally broke. I knew they should have started Demko either yesterday or today. He gave up five, but the first was screened, the second ticked off Motte’s stick, the third was BS bad luck off the skate… just not a good luck night for him. He’ll have to play lights out and steal game 5.

Which he will.

So, in back to back games, the Nucks are 0-4. This is Green overworking the top six. Vegans’s 4th line in particular was stellar tonight, getting it done physically and creating scads of chances.

Still think the Nucks will grit out one more win. — copey

That’s grit we can believe in. Underdog grit. At least until late Tuesday night.

Enjoy the HNIC vid snips. At least two-thirds of them.

GAME STATS (Nucks got some goals, so that’s good)

	SOG	FO%	PP	PIM	HITS	BLKS	GVA
Golden Knights VGK	33	39%	1/2	10	39	16	21
Canucks VAN	31	61%	2/5	4	47	18	26

PLAYER STATS (Some players scored, so that’s good)

Tough loss. Maybe tougher than the Game 3 loss. But, for the 3rd period, coulda been a better result. Hockey games are too long. When we’re leading after 2.

How’d this loss go over in the Green room? Listen closely.

We have to remember that the Nucks are the only team left in the bubble hockey playoffs that had to play a play-in round. The only one (other than the Isles). The only Canadian team left to face the American onslaught. Underdog over-achievers. They have played more games than any other team in the bubble.

Underdogs who almost tied the series with the half-billion dollar team that was built by stealing players.

We’re lucky to have the pleasure to watch the Nucks play playoff hockey in summer. Which still feels really weird, but this year is the year of weird.

Enjoy this weird weird ride through this weird world of bubbly playoff hockey.