GAME RECAP #17: NUCKS Win! 5th Straight Loss - Get Snowed 4-2 By Avalanche

SO.... PENALIZED!

Taking penalties out of frustration. Here at NM, we all have taken multi-game misconducts. But, that’s our ethos.

The Nucks are taking penalties because they’re frustrated. Frustrated because the Nucking PK is the worst in the league. The worst in Nucking history. The worst PK in the NHL’s post-cap era.

Which makes it an opportune time for the refs to make uh... ‘adjustments’.

Better effort tonight - almost a mini-comeback in the 2nd. And yet...

The Nucks PK gave up the 1st goal in the 1st.

And so it begins...Miller with no stick to clear the puck..PP goal Avs — Westy

The Nucks PK gave up the tieing goal in the 3rd.

The Nucks PK gave up the winning goal in the 3rd.

You’d think if you were a Nucking player, knowing how horrible your PK is (they know, right?) you would try to take as few penalties as possible.

Not get frustrated and take a penalty - Miller gets po’d, takes a penalty - Avs score - game tied.

Huggie gets mad after a getting crushed into the boards, gets trolled hard - takes a stupid penalty - Avs score - win the game.

Avs won the game on the PP. The Nucks lost the game on the PK.

Just 17 games in, Nucks have already have TWO 4 game streaks where they allowed multi-goals on the PK. No team had that horrible record since 05-06, when post lockout power plays were far more frequent than now.

Discipline? Team hasn’t got much, because it’s so frustrating always playing behind. Playing behind the worst PK in the league.

Myers has (recently?) been on terrible on the PK. OEL not much better. Hamonic wasn’t great either, but he’s just trying to fit in to match the Nucks road PK. Stickless Miller wasn’t good - cranky Miller was worse. Lammikko hasn’t been near as good as projected. We know what that feels like. Results are in - we lost the trade. Even if Olli never plays a Panthers game. But Motte can be good, when he’s not getting jobbed by the refs.

You would not have thought it possible, but the Nucking PK is but ¹⁄₃ of percent over 60%.

Inconceivable!

60.3% effective.

Inconceivable!

Nolan Baumgartner runs the PK department - some say he runs it similar to how they wrote the Office series. With Trav over-seeing the power point presentations.

The Nucking braintrust realized in the off season they needed to shore up the defensive side of the game. So, they hired Brad Shaw - who is/was regarded as an excellent hockey strategist.

But strategy without execution is a not a winning tactic.

The lack of a right-handed center that can take... no... WIN draws on the PK is hurting it. Diki has had a terrible start as a shutdown center - yet he was one of the best in Dallas. Sutz hasn’t started at all - and we have no idea how long his long covid will take.

So... the PK issues appear to be down to 3 simple things:

1. Strategy
2. Personal
3. Execution

That’s an easy fix. In 2 or 5 seasons. No worries.

What about that infamous Nucking PP?

Powerless Achievements

It went 0% as it did on the road. 0 for 3. But one of them was 4 seconds of futility rather than the expected full 2 minutes of hopelessness.

Jason King is the Nucks PP coach and consistency representative.

Maybe keep Pete and Brock off PP1 until their anti-scoring demons are tamed. Home Garland with Podz or Hoagie on PP1 is worth a try. Why not?

Brock and Pete Watch

Brock was in the lineup. Made some plays. That we almost noticed.

Pete was not good in the 1st, played better in the 3rd, skating better, getting chances and declining them.

How come Petey didn’t charge to the net and draw a penalty? — Atty

Pete had other chances to shoot and score... but didn’t. So the mystery continues. Don’t know what’s going on with him. But we know it ain’t great.

The Good News

Gnarland is back on board - the ROG scoreboard.

The Poolman can score when Pete and Brock and Bo and JT and even Hoagie can’t.

As we’ll hear from Trav, the Nucks 5v5 play was pretty good. Isn’t that special?

This was the best result from the game.

Frazer Valley is drowning. Merritt is a lake. The lower mainland and the island are still cutoff from the rest of Canada. South island ran out gas today. Nucks know what that feels like.

Home Video Replays

With the 2 Johns on the not-winning ROG turnover express service.

GAME STATS (we had the lead - really!)

	SOG	FO%	PP	PIM	HITS	BLKS	GVA
Avalanche COL	30	45%	3/5	8	25	24	4
Canucks VAN	34	55%	0/3	12	22	23	7

SOTTED SHOTS (Nucks Had Way More in the 2nd)

PLAYER STATS (Poolman out scores Pete - because he takes the shot!)

SPECIAL PRESSERS

Home Gnarland is making statements.

Poolman sinks the puck when few other Nucks can.

Here to explain his out-of-character selfish penalty, it’s the mighty Quinn.

Much to Westy’s spilt-rum chagrin, the Green room is still open and taking 5-on-5 questions only.

A better effort by the team hanging on a thread of fan credibility. Until they took a penalty.

Perhaps they did just enough that no one loses their pro hockey job. If only they could mount a professional team result.

Can the existing team and coaches turn this bottom-scraping franchise around? Dare we hope, just an average professional special teams result? No, that’s a hope that no one believes in.

So where to next?

The good news is... the team only a couple percent above them in the worst PK challenge is coming to visit on Friday. Only issue is the Jets PP is running an even higher effective rate than the Avs. I’d quote the numbers, but how will that help with our already low fan happiness quotient.

Let’s just not get any penalties and hope the refs give the Peg 50 minutes in the Myers summer cottage. Pretty sure the Nucks can stay at evens for 10 minutes.

Maybe the best we can hope for next game is a tie. Or they flood the ROG in sympathy and we can focus our energies learning to adapt to climate change - because the climate in the Nucks room doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon.