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GAME RECAP #37: NUCKS WIN! 3 GAME L-STREAK! GET CANED 4-1

Morning Road Games Have Never Been Our Friend - Trend Confirmed

By jimmi.cynic
/ new
NHL: Vancouver Canucks at Carolina Hurricanes
The Puck Stops Here - at least we hoped it would
James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

It was the 3rd scheduled loss in a row on the pre-season road trip through hell. The hell of playing the top 3 teams in the east league in their native timezone in their native rinks.

Today with the bonus hell of playing a morning game against a team with the NHL’s best PK. And... uh... the Nucks PP is uh... ranked 20th. So... it wasn’t unexpected they went 0 for 5 on the PP. Frustrating, sure. Unexpected, not really.

Nor was it unexpected the league’s worst PK gave up one first thing in morning in the first. Games before noon PST ought to be against league rules - but the league that makes the rules always rules for the ruling class that rules from the east.

Them’s the rules. Check Kent’s preview for the dirty little early secret.

Oh well... at least when the Nucks finally win the Cup in 2025 2055 3570 at least it won’t be because assistance from the league’s greasy little pinkies on the scales of fair play.

Not making excuses for the Nucks - they are where they are because they aren’t in the top 5 of the league - thankfully had the 7 game streak to keep them out of the bottom 5.

The BruceBump momentum was broken by the covid shutdowns. Even if the Bump hadn’t been bumped to the sidelines, this road trip would have tough to salvage some points. Now the Nucks just need to salvage some dignity and not lose too much confidence.

But with Halak no longer available, Demmer could be forced to play the rest of the trip and could make the sub .9 SV% more consistently confidence crushing.

Oh well... at least Bo got on the board this game. Early. Just not often.

Nucks took the tie into the 1st intermission. And left it there.

Meanwhile over on the Alien sightings... Pete has 6 goals in 37 games. An encouraging sign that he could break into double digits over the full season. So that’s something to sigh about.

Player confidence is a funny thing. Sometimes it’s there and other times... well... ask JT. Just not today. Didn’t even get a shot on goal.

Oh well... at least we have the 2 John to comment on some great passing and stuff by the locals.

GAME STATS (there’s some positives in there - we just need to make them up)

SOG FO% PP PIM HITS BLKS GVA
Canucks
VAN
 31 62% 0/5 6 37 18 8
Hurricanes
CAR
 33 38% 1/2 12 36 7 8

SHOT COUNTED (didn’t win that category either)

Period VAN CAR
1st 7 12
2nd 8 10
3rd 16 11
Total 31 33

PLAYER STATS (need better morning players)

# Forwards GP G A P P +/- S PIM PIM SOG HITS BLKS GVA TKA FO% TOI PP TOI SH TOI PP GW
6 B. Boeser 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 5 1 4 1 0 20:06 5:36 --:-- 0
8 C. Garland 0 0 0 0 -1 3 0 3 2 0 0 1 0 14:00 3:59 --:-- 0
9 J.T. Miller 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 56 20:07 5:58 0:58 0
15 M. Highmore 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 13:14 0:25 0:21 0
18 J. Dickinson 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 1 0 0 1 78 10:06 --:-- 0:38 0
21 N. Hoglander 0 0 0 0 -1 2 0 2 1 0 0 0 10:34 --:-- --:-- 0
40 E. Pettersson 0 0 0 0 -1 1 0 1 2 0 1 1 50 17:12 4:27 --:-- 0
53 B. Horvat 1 0 1 1 -1 5 2 5 3 0 1 1 65 17:58 5:26 1:19 0
64 T. Motte 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 3 1 0 0 13:53 0:35 0:58 0
70 T. Pearson 0 0 0 0 -1 2 0 2 2 2 0 0 17:07 4:30 1:02 0
91 J. Lammikko 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 62 12:32 0:41 --:-- 0
92 V. Podkolzin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 14:11 3:59 --:-- 0
# Defense GP G A P P +/- S PIM PIM SOG HITS BLKS GVA TKA FO% TOI PP TOI SH TOI PP GW
2 L. Schenn 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 6 1 2 0 13:48 0:10 0:41 0
5 T. Poolman 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 4 2 3 0 0 17:33 --:-- 0:38 0
23 O. Ekman-Larsson 0 0 0 0 -2 1 0 1 2 1 0 2 22:04 4:11 1:57 0
43 Q. Hughes 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 23:44 6:38 0:41 0
57 T. Myers 0 0 0 0 -2 2 2 2 4 2 0 1 20:51 0:15 1:19 0
77 B. Hunt 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 16:23 3:10 --:-- 0
# Goalies GP REC GA SV SA S EV PP SH SAVE-SHOTS SV% PIM TOI GAA
35 T. Demko -- 29 33 23–26 2–3 4–4 29–33 .879 0 59:59

DEPRESSERING

Bo scores. The media matchup.

Ineffective PP. Somewhat effective PK. Bruce draws on those special things.

3 game losing slide feels pretty awful. When it becomes a 5 game slide, all the prettiness will disappear. That’s when some Westy will call for changes behind the bench. Worked the last time.

Anyhow, we knew this trip was going to be a big test. A test that the Nucks weren’t prepared to take. And neither were we.

If the league took away so many home games - only fair they took away 3 of these road games. And they have. Just not taken away in the proper way.

One more restless night for the Nucks and another morning game. Could be a winnable one for the Nucks since the Caps have been sliding too. Battle of the sliders.

Oh well... after tomorrow’s loss, the Nucks can get up for Tuesday’s big game in MuzakCity and return home to pound the Panthers.

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