GAME RECAP #46: Nucks Win - Horrible Loss For Bruce - Oiled 4-2 in the ROG

This is a tough game to recap. There it is.

The final score was depressing enough. Losing to the Oil in the ROG is always tough.

SBN shutting down the NHL department is tough too. At least it’s something we can do something about.

Yet the President and Coward in Chief of the Vancouver Canucks made a simple ruthless mid season coaching change into a months long cruel death march for a beloved coach and Nucks fans.

We thought that JB was a terrible manager. JR has now set a more ruthless, more disgusting terrible standard. Impressive.

Today, I’m ashamed to be a Canucks fan. I know, my friends in other hockey markets will claim I’m decades late to the pity party.

The management group may want the team to be more accountable. Sadly, for us, accountability starts at the top, not bottom.

We fans need to hold the owners, this tone-deaf management group accountable. If Bruce isn’t/wasn’t JR’s coach, then he should have done something in the summer. Or in November. Or June.

But this month after month of JR hinting he didn’t want his ‘friend’ coaching our Nucks was such a classless move that Frankie must be learning new ways to slumlord like a boss.

Bruce deserved to be treated so much better. NucksNation deserve so much better. Never mind putting together a winning roster, this JR-led executive group struggles to value basic human decency.

THE GAME PART

Meanwhile... Bruce had a game to coach. And I’m here to tell you about it.

It didn’t go well.

For the Nucks or us. Or worse, for Bruce.

Anyhow, the game started great.

McDavid opens the scoring — Westy

Nucks were only down a goal early, thanks to a McD breakaway for the HNIC pom-pom glee show.

And then...

1st PP vs Worst PK... what could go wrong? — jimmi

About that...

all of it — Westy

Nucks, league worst PK giving up another one to the NHL’s best PP. Shocking! But true.

Down 2 after 1. That’s not so bad.

Even better, the Oil got out to a 3-zip lead early in the 2nd.

Turned it on just in time to see the Oilers score... which seems to be a trope this season :/ — Twitchy

But, despite trailing behind in the game - and comeback kids narrative, Huggie, Pete and Kuz got the Nucks on the board. And a huge: “Bruce. There it is” from the ROG.

Even better, Nucks go into the 3rd, with Bruce’s coaching career ending, unofficially, in 20 minutes, down just 2 goals.

Seems fitting somehow that Huggie spins to win a goal for JT. Maybe it’s a loose or a barely a fit at all, but that’s the last goal a Boudreau coached Nucks team would score.

Nucks tried to tie. Got close. But bad things happen when the Nucks net is empty and the Nucks are pressing and falling on the opposing blueline.

But still, Pete wasn’t keeping calm in defeat - he’s playing the heavy game - 2 periods late, but still...

Angry heavy checking petey is the best! — Twitchy

Nucks lose another. For Bruce? Or for Bedard?

Pro hockey is supposed to be fun entertainment for fans. To give them some vicarious thrills - take our minds off our day-to-day troubles and Nucking rebuild/retool rumours.

That’s what Bruce gave us last season on that great almost-made-it run.

But this season, the idiotic management group wants to turn a fun game into a tacky off-ice Hollywood-style soap opera. Why?

We don’t know.

We can only watch in disbelief as professional hockey ops people running a league basement team, drop further into sloppy clown shoe showbiz.

Maybe there really is such a thing as bad PR.

SAD ROG VIDEO

HNIC Betrayal Edition. Keep the MUTE button handy.

GAME STATS (not unexpected stats, but not the stats we wanted)

	SOG	FO%	PP	PIM	HITS	BLKS	GVA
Oilers EDM	29	55%	1/1	6	16	12	4
Canucks VAN	29	45%	0/2	4	22	7	6

PLAYER STATS (Yay Kuz/Petey/Huggie, I guess)

ROG DEPRESSORS

Bo knows. When it’s time to go. Or at least his agent does.

Schenny is such classy guy - too bad he works for a classless organization.

And he’s right. The Nucks players let down Bruce. And us.

Enjoy Gabby’s Last Nucking presser.

Bruce stays classy. Unlike his employers. A great coach and great human being. His passion for the game is an inspiration for all of us.

Hope Bruce gets another NHL bench boss job. Depending on the team, might be my new one.

Bruce leaves the Nucks with the 2nd best record for a coach in Nucks history. Even if Bruce hasn’t ‘officially’ left the team. Maybe Friedman runs the organization.

Good luck JR, replacing the 20th ranked all time winning coach with the 93rd who is tasked with coaching the same group that your group put on the ice.

If Bruce is officially replaced by Tocchet on Monday, is it because the scheduled Nucking win on Tuesday will demonstrate the ‘coach’ bump? Maybe. But not the Bruce Bump. That we were fortunate to witness last year.

This is a very dark Nucking period - possibly even over-shadowing the NM SBN quagmire.

Could this be a new Nucking dark night of the game?

Let’s find out.