GAME 4 FAKE RECAP: WOOO! NOT FAKE NOW. NUCKS WIN SERIES 5-4 IN OT!!!

You want playoff drama during a play-in? Got an itch for 80s goalie duels? Want 40 minutes of big screen NM pitching arm practice?

Or do you want a walkover win?

Yeah, the last one would have saved some TV screen repairs - but not too late to skip the 3 Act Hockey Drama and get to the smooth Dad goal. Click HERE.

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Still here?

Ok. Your choice. Wish I could save you the anguish of multiple McSofties, the Myers Rest Box, the down 2 goals in the 2nd, down a goal in the 3rd, the fake link to save you the anguish of multiple McSofties, the Myers Rest Box, the down 2 goals in the 2nd, down a goal in the 3rd, the fake link to save you the anguish of multiple McSofties, the Myers Rest Box, the down 2 goals in the 2nd, down a goal in the 3rd and so on.

If wishes were my power to grant we’d all be sipping out of the Pandemic Cup in the south of France right now. Ok... maybe not all of us all at the same time. Just the ones wearing the masks.

This wasn’t expected to be an easy game. Minni’s bubble hockey time is on the line after all. However, after Marky’s perfect performance last game and all our young stars aligning, we were pretty confident the Nucks would close the series out and move on.

By mid-third our confidence was back at the adoption agency looking for guardians without the drinking problems.

I’ve tried to keep the recap focused on the win. Now it’s time to focus on how we didn’t lose.

1st Period

Good start. Jake is setting the tone. Picks a fight with chief douche of Minni.

We like that Jake is contributing.

Jake fighting

that’s new - Westy

Virtanen before the fight:

“don’t hit my face man, no marks!” - Twitchy

Yet the game thread is already uneasy.

How long before a Myers penalty? - Westy

Not long enough as it turns out. That’s ok, because the Nucks PK have killed 17 consecutive penalties including 7 Myers penalties. Killing another Myers penalty? How hard can that be?

Turns out, hard. Very hard.

There it is

Myers is paying rent. Minn Scores - Westy

It’s not the end of the world. Maybe the end of the game, but we’re not there yet.

Game thread isn’t worried.

Virtanen

has a bit of fire tonight. The team overall looks like they did in the first period yesterday though… lotsa missed passes and communication clusterfucks. - Twitchy

Still... it’s not the Silver Cup playbook that we had the Nucks read out loud on the ice in games 2 and 3.

It’s a simple playbook. Get the 1st goal of the game. And the 2nd. And the 3rd. And so on.

But, we’re throwing the playbook at the TV. It’s time for a better drinking game.

The Nucks go on the PP and the drinking game gets serious. The Nucks don’t get scored on on the PP. The drinking game gets more fun.

Thanks to Pearson, the game gets more fun too. What a shot!

Game is tied 1-1. Anything can happen.

And that’s not good.

Because... it’s... a short side McSoftie, or as we call them in the game thread a McShortie.

guess marky needs to be 6’8” to stop those huh - radivel

There was a lot of colourful language in the game thread and worse.

But being down 2-1 late in the period, you know the Nucks will push back.

annnnnnd meyers back to the bin

seriously it’s not even funny anymore. No, wait, it still is. - Twitchy

Not the push back we wanted, but not unexpected.

Still... the Nucks PK have killed 7 of 8 Myers Box of Sins. Why not 8 of 9?

Why not indeed.

And they do. And the period ends only being down a goal. That’s not so bad. Except if we recall what happens when stingy Minni has a lead. But we don’t remember that.

Nucks outshoot the Wild 13-12 and lead on penalty count 3-2. I know, what a bunch of wimpy refs.

Penalty trouble? Yup. Not enough of them.

2nd Period

The period starts without incident. That’s good.

And a Canuck is breaking in one-on-one on goal, but it’s Loui, so it’s not fair. To us.

But within minutes, the good start takes a turn to sloppy side.

It’s a scrappy play and somehow Marky can’t get the scraps into his glove. Minni score again. It’s 3-1 Wild and the game thread is looking for... more drinking games.

Last game Marky would have been in position and made the stop. But, this is a different goalie - it’s off night Marky.

Marky has been a gong show

all around. It’s like Jekyll and Hyde - Westy

Maybe because back-to-back games for Marky. Maybe it’s because the Nucks are stuck in Edmonton for a whole week. Who knows.

What we do know it that we have the best rookie D-man in the league. Huggy skates into the zone, dekes out a Wild player and puts a shot on net.

And then an amazing thing happened. Something we had hopes for that were always crushed in throughout this series. A Sutter goal.

I’m not making this up. Sutter swats the puck out of the air and into the net. Hands of stone, some say. Hands of diamonds tonight.

Yes, the best rookie D in the league isn’t finished on the score card. He’s looking for his 1st NHL playoff goal. It’s a laser from the blueline.

Wicked. We’re Quinning all over again!

Hughes

it’s such a weapon that you can’t leave him alone for even a little time because he can shoot like that from so far away

what a great shot! - radivel

Game is back to evens, even if it is tied with odd numbers.

3-3 game and the comeback kids are doing what we knew they would. Once they tied the game.

We can take this.

What we couldn’t take was another McSoftie to end the period. It’s bad angle shot on Marky that has a bad result on our comeback. Unknown goal scorer, Sturm hasn’t scored a goal all season. And yet...

And yet.. the game thread is as unfazed as ever.

Holy.....what a terrible goal

This is what happens when Marky gets a shutout — Westy

Instant karma is so 60s hockey tho.

anytime they score a goal where the broadcaster says

“How did that go in?”

Literally how did that get in!

Sturm should buy a 50/50 ticket it seems. — radivel

We won’t determine that event just now. A crack team of NM Forensic Goal researchers will study this over what’s left of the summer and deliver their full post coverage report in time for Thanksgiving. Canadian Thanksgiving. A proper holiday weekend not so close to Xmas.

Still... could be worse.

What’s the followup to giving up a stupid goal?

Take a stupid penalty, of course. — radivel

And...

It’s a strategy to disrupt their 5 on 5 play — Canta

Anyhow... there’s a game to be played with a full 58 seconds of comeback hockey to watch. Watch it fade away into the longest intermission in the entire series.

4-3 Wild on a Saturday night in Edmonton which is a Friday night everywhere else.

A miserable Friday night in the greater NM game thread, in case you haven’t been following along. Or drinking along all over again.

I was thinking earlier

“If the canucks are gonna play a 30 minute game, I think it’s better when it’s the second 30.” But that assumes that Marky hasn’t been hijacked by the ghost of dan cloutier. — Twitchy

Still... there’s a little cynical hope left...

Keep ‘em coming

Although… just for drama night in Canada… the Nucks go on to win the game as 2020 Marky — s.cynic

Maybe it’s foreshadowing. Or maybe wishful shadowing. Or just another dirnking game stunt.

Vancouver outshoots Minni 11-9 and tied the game up going into the 3rd. It’s part of the NHL Bubble Hockey format. Last minute goals in a period don’t count. Unless we score them.

It’s like a rule. But more amenable to interpretation.

Not amenable enough and the rigid NHL scorekeepers are not sensitive to our over-drinking game requirements.

Lots of penalties? Nope.

3rd Period

Fine. We’re down a goal in the final period of the game against the stingiest, most defensively sound team in the league.

Or are they?

Yeah, probably. At least for the first half of the period. But Suter is out and Matt is in and the Nucks forecheck will not be denied all period.

The game thread is already bargaining for a tie or something.

a Canucks goal would be nice — Westy

I’d be happy

with an assist at this point. — Twitchy

I want 2 Nucks goals

I’m Greedy. — jimmi.cynic

And so on... the bargaining and the drunken pleading to the hockey gawds droned on.

Meanwhile in the game, our new hero, Pearson, is winning puck battles on the boards and passing out front to our captain. Who burns Stalock like he liked it.

Woooooooooooooo!!! We’re winning! Almost.

And almost is all we need. Because we have a secret sniper in waiting for OT.

Period ends evens again, with even numbers too. It’s 4 all and history is on our side.

But, we didn’t know that yet.

I will be penalised without listing this mean list of mean nothing stats.

OT

The feeling in the game thread had barely returned to our extremities - drinking games can be like that.

And before we could even sit and sip - Zap! Game’s over!

It’s the most beautiful 11 seconds of OT ever. At least since WCF 2011.

Who better to bury the Wild than Tanev!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

The HNIC are calling a wild game. We know that. No need to rub it in.

GAME STATS (We WON! No better stat than that)

PLAYER STATS (Marky Wins the Grant Fuhr Award)

This game was a roller coaster ride on thin ice with a pack of piranhas in your pocket.

This was a great, nay, the best team game of the series. Marky couldn’t save them, only the Nucks could save the Nucks. And they did.

Does it feel good? Let’s find out.

Wow! What a game. What a series.

And yet it’s not that big a deal. But now we’re moving on to the big deal. The Pandemic Cup deal. That’s pretty big.

But, let’s not think about that series. Let’s just spend the weekend soaking up this wonderful series win. Happy Canucks Day, NM