RECAP #8: NUCKS WIN! Another Home Loss - Dumped By Phillies 2-1

Boy oh boy, this home stand is just what the Nucks needed.

To regress below 500.

If there’s anything the Nucks can learn about their seemingly inevitable slide into sub-mediocre hockey, it’s that hockey is a team game. Phillie was tired - played hard in the 1st, not so much in the 2nd, but at least they played the team game.

The Nucks had a few good individual efforts. Yet the Nucks team doesn’t seem to want or can’t support each other. On the ice. And in the locker room? But the Faeries are happy to support many of them in the Fab Faery Infirmary.

THE GOOD(ish)

Schenn takes it to our recent waiver loss. So that’s good.

Huggie scored a goal! That was good.

Wow Huggy! Gonna be a game of shinny...we’re trending for a 60 goal game... — Twitchy

Twitch meant a 60 goal season (for the team), but early game thread posts are subject to inflationary math theorems.

Halak had a good game - without you know... goal support.

THE FREAKIN’ FUGLY

Through 2 periods Lammie and Highmore had 3 high danger chances vs giving up only 1.

Lotto line generated 1 and gave up 4.

4th line was the best Nucks line. Good for them. Not so good for the team, eh, Torts.

And worse for the team Highmore couldn’t return for the 3rd. So the Nucks best line on the night had a guy playing for the Faeries. They’re so greedy and it’s not even Injurvember.

Also... game was over after the 1st. No goals were scored over the final 40 futile minutes. Great way to show your appreciation for playing in the ROG again.

Pete? Uh...

He is not skating or moving the puck with confidence. I have never seen him so unsure in his decision making, not even in his first games as a rookie.

Where is the swagger? — Gawailoh

The compete Pete?

I hate to say this, but the team is doing much better when Petey is on the bench. He can’t even skate!

This was his worst game. — Atty

Nucks are definitely not on a win streak. But the Faeries are on fire - drafted Dickinson, Dowling, Poolman, Rathbone and of course Harmonic, Sutz and Motte.

Meanwhile our leading fan fav (and Nucks points leader), only played 10 minutes and half. Why? Shaved off the beard and coach didn’t recognize him? Podz got more ice time than Conor, so that’s good, I guess.

I know Westy won’t say it’s never too early to fire Green, but could be better to wait for a 5 game losing streak before firing him. Looks like it won’t be a long wait. But, what about the team leaders? Miller is the alpha pouter dog - not a good leading method. Better to pout from the bench - not on the way to it.

Even Bo took a lazy penalty. And Pete... didn’t draw the call he wanted, but got the penalty he didn’t want. Brock was near invisible until a couple shifts late in the 3rd.

The highest paid Nucks forwards have generated 8 goals through 8 games - 4 of those from Bo. 4 goals spread between Pete, Miller and Brock - so that’s tens of millions well spent.

The Nucking PP went ZERO for FIVE! In stats-speek that’s 0%. Gonna hurt the average.

The PK was 80% effective. Just not effective enough - this team is designed to line-juggled to win by scoring one goal per 60.

Vid Recap of all the goals. Short video.

GAME STATS (A game of 2 stories - neither that good)

	SOG	FO%	PP	PIM	HITS	BLKS	GVA
Flyers PHI	28	45%	1/5	15	13	7	2
Canucks VAN	28	55%	0/5	15	41	14	8

SHOT UP! (a shot count of 2 periods)

PLAYER STATS (oh... dear...)

We don’t see a Schenning presser often - enjoy the chase.

The lone, and too lonely on the scoreboard, goal scorer gives us all a warm Huggie feeling without any lucky bounces tho.

Over in the Green Room, seems like the coach is waiting for the other rum bottle to drop.

Sure, we can be frustrated by Green’s deployment of his reduced roster. In Green’s mind it’s a full on Center Crisis. And he’s not imagining it. Tonight’s game featured one real center, Capt’n Bo.

Miller is a great winger - not a good center despite being pretty good in the dot. Like Millsie, Lammikko is a winger who can play center. Pete is a center. Or was previously - the Alien can’t seem to play that position well (or others) on foreign home ice.

And then there’s the benching of Garland. He had a couple bad shifts, but Miller had 10 minutes more of bad frustrated shifts - leading by exasperation.

On the bright side, Westy will be thrilled by the internet tanning Green is getting. Cowtown will be heehawing watching us drop down the standing. At least we don’t have to play their division leading rival anytime soon.

With 9.75% of the season complete the New (Sad) Look Nucks are a .438 team. That’s almost half decent.

Maybe stats can cheer us up. Nucks are last in the league in high danger scoring chances for and half danger chances for. Ok, not a cheery stat.

Stats suck. We know that. Only an idiot would use them to generate some false hope amongst the long-suffering NMtelligentsia.

Oh well... can’t win them all. Probably not even 50% of them. Is that so bad? No, not if this was last year’s season start. But, it isn’t - last season’s excuses won’t work. The Nucking braintrust will need to develop better, more palpable excuses. Good luck with that.

Every home game from now on is a MUST WIN. We were promised a much better team this season. Time to prove it.