GAME RECAP #31: Nucks Win - Another 5-1 Loss At Home - Now With A Twinge of Blues

Comfortable hockey. That’s the New Nucking way. Having fun getting blown out at home.

6 losses at home - actually 12 home losses so far - but narrative.

6 losses with a 5-1 ending. At home. And we call them inconsistent.

The lack of urgency, the lack of attention to basic hockey details, the lack of playing a team game as a team. That’s consistent.

Maybe we can set some sort of weird NHL record for most consecutive 5-1 losses. — Raddy

Maybe. Something to strive for in the why-bother-competing home turnover saga.

THE (little) GOOD

Miki got a goal!

THE SAME SAME MALAISE

Same result as Saturday. Same lack of urgency. Same, same poor hockey habits. But this time against a worse team than the Jets.

To be fair, the Nucks held the Blues scoreless through the 1st. But still...

Lackluster performance? Check.

Disengaged for most of the game? Check.

OEL making bad plays? Check.

Can someone explain to OEL that he should play *his* side of the ice?

Christ, left Walker completely open on that second goal.

And he’s done that repeatedly recently. Is he dreaming of Stockholm or something? — copey

OEL making more bad plays? Check.

Oh look, OEL fell down, giving them a 2 on 0 shortie breakaway.

At his point, benching seems too kind. Makes me wish Utica were still an option. — copey

It might seem that the game thread and me are singling out OEL. Maybe we are. But maybe this would be a long and tedious recap if we singled out the other players not playing pro hockey for millions. At home.

Marty allowed 5 goals. Again. Only 1 seemed moderately soft. The rest were a team effort. The no-effort team effort.

Why bother getting upset with this latest Nucking roster? The Benning legacy has become the JR, Alvin and the Chipmunks legacy.

Aside from Pete, Kuz and Miki, who wants to compete every night?

Seriously, at this point ANY change is welcome, as far as I am concerned. Blow up the team. Make a crazy trade. Sell everything. Whatever the f#ck they do, just do something. Watching the same thing over and over again is agony. — Atty

Problem is... we’re not permitted to trade the ownership group. That’s the most consistent part of the Nucks lost decade. Ownership refusing a full rebuild - just ask Trev.

We were told that JR has full autonomy. He doesn’t want a full rebuild either. Maybe that’s why he’s such a good fit with ownership.

Thing is... a full rebuild could take another decade. Ain’t nobody in NucksNation has the patience for that.

Of course, a retool is more of the same. Ain’t nobody in NucksNation has the patience for that.

So... we Nucks fans are screwed. Enjoy another jolly season of semi-pro hockey.

ROG Video

Even the 2 Johns can’t make this game bearable.

GAME STATS (we’ve seen this before)

	SOG	FO%	PP	PIM	HITS	BLKS	GVA
Blues STL	27	57%	2/3	10	21	6	1
Canucks VAN	34	43%	0/4	8	26	9	6

PLAYER STATS (seen this too)

ROG DEPRESSORING

Schenn didn’t have a good game - and is punished with meeting the pressorings - and can’t say what he wants - other than the Nucks aren’t good enough. Or care enough.

And Petey’s absence is not an excuse, .... before anybody brings it up. — Atty

Too late. Bruce missed Pete on the 0 for 4 PP. So did the Nucks.

Again, Gabby goes Groundhog Day. Liked the 1st. The Nucking mistakes, not so much.

I wish Torts was the coach today, so that we can hear him saying how we sucked. — Atty

You know it’s not a good sign, when the game thread is getting nostalgic for the Torturella era.

Nucks have lost 3 of their last 4 games. Another home game on Thursday. Against a surprisingly good newbie team. A scheduled loss?

Let’s find out.