Nucks win 3-2 with 32 seconds left in the 3rd for the 3-2 series lead. Not making it up.
Bounce Back Nucks bounce back with their best game of the playoffs.
Better game...better chances...great win
Westy
Didn't start that way.
In the 1st, Nucks are on the PK before the 1st minute is finished dismaying Nucks fans.
Love early penalties
Westy
Know what we love even more?
Yay killed an early penalty.
Twitch
With that major accomplishment under their skates, the Nucks celebrated with a small tirefire in their own end. Some say lit by Cole who was worn out during the puck panic attack. Couldn't win a puck battle and a moment later it's 1-0 Oil.
Playing beer league hockey in our own end. Not sure how that's a winning strategy
'82wino
You know what else isn't a winning strategy? Dumb penalties. And taking them.
hughes taking the dumbest penalty in hockey.
Twitch
Again, the Taco talked and tweaked Nucks PK killed off the 2 stupidest minutes in hockey.
Since that under-manned gambit seems to be working, Cole decides to get off the ice. And into the box. Where he can't get beat on a puck battle/deflection or something.
Hey look...more stupid penalties
Westy
The Nucks PK goes back to work. And work perfectly. Nucks PK have now killed 3 consecutive McOil PPs. Incredible!
As the last few minutes of the period play on/out, the Nucks are doing the Nucks forechecking thing. And the puck pops out Saint Soucy he rifles a shot glove side past Pickie. 1-1 tie! ROG is going wild!
For about 20 seconds... as Freelancing Soucy appears to have another open look at the Oil net. However, he inexplicably falls down, 200 feet from his own net. Oil breakout on a 2-on-1 and it's 2-1 Oil. Ouch! Welcome back Sous.
Soucy giveth and taketh away
Westy
Hey I already said that.
Twitch
Soucy giveth...and soucy taketh away.
2-1 Oil after 1. That's just great.
In the 2nd, the Nucks are coming back. Hard and taking shots. Gnarly taking cheapshots. Gnarland gets slammed into the boards. Looks like his wrist is hurt.
Fucking fogle just ended garland's season.
Twitch
Gnarland is back on the ice later. Tough pest. We love him for his go-go-go engine.
The Nucks PP had some looks, but no goal.
It's Father's Day in the ROG. PDG is back after the birth of his son. Thanks to a ferocious forecheck from his line, Bouchie turns over the puck in front of his net - or as we call it on the end of the ice, a Cole-over. PDG gets the free puck, spins and scores!
WOOO DIGI!
Twitch
ROG is going nutz. And so are we. Or maybe we started that way.
Nucks get another PP and then they're off it, because Pete gets called for charging. He didn't charge, but prepped himself for a hit.
Petey gets nailed for a non-charge charge
Westy
Petey gets a penalty for dodging a hit? WTAF???
Twitch
The ROG responds by throwing garbage on ice for the garbage call.
But wait! There's more!
Hey...you like penalties....here's another
Westy
Josh to the box for interfering with McSpeedy.
Again the Nucks PK kill another Oil PP. The best PP in hockey went 0 for 5 in the game.
The Nucks played their best 2nd of the series. Outplayed the Oil and outshot them 17-4. In one period. Almost as many shots as the Nucks had in the entire last game.
In the 3rd, with the game tied 2-2 in a series tied 2-2, both teams were keen to break the tie, however, the Nucks were more keen. And more clean on their breakouts. Since the late 1st, Nucks had clogged the neutral zone. Didn't let McWheels wheelie get going.
The ROG is chanting: "GO PETEY!" He's going - his best game of the playoffs. Sets up new addition, Hoagie for a shot into the open(ish) net. Pings the post.
Oh Hoggy... open net...
Twitch
As with all great playoff dramas, it stretches out - tense minute after tense minute. Nucks have the edge in play... but...
encouraged by 34 shots...discouraged by lack of goals
Westy
Finally we're in the final minute and OT is looming large in our hockey minds.
Or is it?
Millsie who had kept McD off the chart, jumps onto the ice. Lindy has the puck on the far side. McD is expecting the pass to JT and ready to grab it and scamper up ice.
But Lindy doesn't risk a cross ice pass. Instead, puts a shot on net. And Pete deflects it with his skate. Not in the net, because that would result in endless CoTU reviews. Instead Pete's skate deflects the puck off the post. To a waiting JT who roofs it while McD is still waiting for the cross-ice pass.
JAY TEE MILLLLLLER!!!!!
Twitch
The GWG scored with 32 seconds left in the game. This time, the Nucks keep the lead. Win the game and lead the series 3-to-2. WOOOOOOOOOO!
First game of the playoffs we looked like the regular season canucks... Woooo!
Twitch
OBSERVATIONS
No own goals. Altho... Cole did have an attempt.
So far in this series, Nucks are outhitting Oil 214 to 143. Wearing down McManyMinutes maybe.
JT's GWG was the 2nd latest game winner in Nucks playoff history.
The Nucks shutdown McDiver again. Especially JT and Soucy. McD had 0 points and a -2, but did admit the Nucks were the better team. That was nice. Also nice that DriedUpSaddle didn't get a PP goal and finished with a -2 as well.
ROG WINNING REEL
It's HNIC play-by-play and worse, Juice isn't available on the panel. Doesn't matter. Beating the Oil on HNIC while HNIC has to watch is just fine.
GAME STATS
SHOTS
| tOIL | Period | CANUCKS |
| 11 | 1st | 11 |
| 4 | 2nd | 17 |
| 8 | 3rd | 7 |
| 23 | TOTAL | 35 |
PLAYER POINTS
| G | A | S | +/- | H | TOI | |
| MILLER | 1 | 4 | +1 | 3 | 22:07 | |
| GIUSEPPE | 1 | 3 | +2 | 4 | 09:13 | |
| SOUCY | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 17:34 | |
| LINDHOLM | 1 | 3 | +1 | 3 | 22:05 | |
| PETTERSSON | 1 | 3 | +1 | 1 | 19:21 | |
| Saves | Shots | SV% | ||||
| SILOVS | 21 | 23 | .913 |
TACO AND TEAM TALK
"Almost every single guy gave us everything they had." - Coach Taco
JT and Pete meet the press.
Myers responds.
Saint Soucy respecting the presser.
PDG happy with the baby bump and the win.
RESILIENT! The resilient Nucks proved their resilience in this game. Taco's tough talk last game and shrewd lineup changes certainly got all Nucks players engaged. Out hustled the Oil. Killed ALL the penalties. Good game. Time to move on.
Can the Nucks be even more determined on the road?
The loss on Tuesday was frustrating for a number of reasons, but tune out what the talking heads are telling you, the pressure remains on the Oilers here, not the Canucks.
VANCOUVER CANUCKS VS EDMONTON OILERS (SERIES TIED 2-2)
7:00PM PST
ROGERS ARENA, VANCOUVER, BC
RADIO: SN650 TV: ESPN, SN, CBC, TVAS
There's always different views of a given situation, and it's up to you to figure out which one you choose to believe. On the one hand, as numerous outlets have breathlessly told us, each of these four games were either won or lost by the Edmonton Oilers. If this feels familiar, it should.
Getting credit where it's due has been probably the biggest challenge this season. Every accomplishment seems to come with an asterisk. The wins, and improved offensive play are merely the product of an extremely high PDO, and nothing more. And even with Rick Tocchet deservedly getting an Adams Trophy nomination, it's still not enough for people to admit that the Canucks are pretty good.
One of the NHL's worst defences, overhauled in mere months. New systems that helped them on their way to one of the best seasons in franchise history. All just luck in the eyes of some. And that's fine. After all, at the end of the day, the Canucks are way ahead of schedule in the retooling process, and every single playoff game is a bonus. So while there's pressure to get going, for assorted reasons, the bulk of the pressure is still, deservedly so, on the backs of the Edmonton Oilers.
This is year nine of the Connor McDavid era, and at least year three of them being considered a serious Stanley Cup contender. And through all of that, they have just one Conference Finals appearance to show for it. They have the two best players in the NHL, along with a number of elite players, and they're fortunate to have been able to tie the series at two games a piece against a team that hasn't given us a 60 minute effort once through the entire playoffs, and doing that with their third string goaltender.
They might be outshooting the Canucks, and leading in offensive zone time, but the majority of their offence is either a) on the power play, or b) on jaw droppingly fortunate bounces and deflections. Ian Cole is literally driving their offence right now, and that's not a joke.
I'm not gonna be torn up if the Canucks lose this series, but the thing is: they don't have to lose it. If they can give one frickin' complete game, where everyone shows up, they'll roll these clowns. They're absolute frauds, and the fact that the Canucks can put in 20-30 minutes a night and this series is down to a best of three proves that.
So, there has to be changes, right? Elias Pettersson simply cannot continue to be such a non-factor. There are a number of players who are just providing nothing of value for the Canucks right now, and this is being addressed in a number of changes to the lineup tonight. Ideally, the Canucks should want to end this series in Edmonton Saturday. With the Colorado Avalanche staving off elimination in Dallas last night, that series could potentially go the full seven games. A couple additional days rest and practice, especially for Thatcher Demko, is imperative. As well as Arturs Silovs has played, a healthy Demko is the key for any path forward if they can get to the Conference Finals.
So, expect the Canucks to come out pissed off tonight. They know they haven't played their best yet, and with an opportunity to put a stranglehold on the series, let their foot off the Oilers' collective throats. Time to remind them who the best team in the Pacific is tonight, eh?
LINEUPS
Oilers projected lineup
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Connor McDavid -- Zach Hyman
Dylan Holloway -- Leon Draisaitl -- Evander Kane
Warren Foegele -- Ryan McLeod -- Corey Perry
Mattias Janmark -- Derek Ryan
Mattias Ekholm -- Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse -- Vincent Desharnais
Brett Kulak -- Cody Ceci
Philip Broberg
Calvin Pickard
Stuart Skinner
Scratched: Sam Carrick, Sam Gagner, Troy Stecher, Connor Brown
Injured: Adam Henrique (lower body)
Canucks projected lineup
Pius Suter -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser
Nils Hoglander -- Elias Lindholm -- Elias Pettersson
Dakota Joshua -- Teddy Blueger -- Conor Garland
Phillip Di Giuseppe -- Nils Aman -- Vasily Podkilzin
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Carson Soucy -- Tyler Myers
Nikita Zadorov -- Ian Cole
Arturs Silovs
Casey DeSmith
Scratched: Mark Friedman, Christian Wolanin, Noah Juulsen, Sam Lafferty, Ilya Mikheyev, Linus Karlsson
Injured: Thatcher Demko (undisclosed)
Okay, this is what we wanted to see. Changes needed, changes made. Pettersson with Lindholm and a rested Hoglander, the return of the Bleug Man Group (not my bit, but I will give credit to the guy if I can find the tweet), PDG back to score a goal for his new baby boy, and the playoff debut of Vasily Podkolzin.
No changes for the Oilers, at least tonight. Pickard gets shelled tonight. Book it.
GAME DAY CHATTER
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
Part of a wave of amazing metal bands from India, tonight's Battle Hymn is "Give 'Em Hell" from AGAINST EVIL. It's the title track from their new album on Doc Gator Records, and it's got a real nice, high energy old school feel. Crank this one loud enough that they can hear it down on Scott Road! Enjoy the game, everyone! Go Canucks Go!
Play like you mean it for 10 minutes - Lose like you don't care.
The Nucks came into the game up 2-1 and could have taken a strangle muffle hold on the series. Unlike the previous game where the Nucks started strong and cruised and bruised to the win, Nucks started weak and faded until the late 3rd.
Maybe it was just bad puck luck. But the Nucks found themselves on the PP early. And it went really well. For the Oil.
Amazing powerplay...took a minute to even get into the oilers zone for all of 6 seconds...
Twitch
And the Colean good clean clear therapy isn't on the game cards.
Two failed clears by cole, miller to the box for an oscar winning dive by draisaitl.
Twitch
And Cole gets to stay for the PK and miscommunicates with Josh and... it's 1-0 Oil.
Who cares? Not the Nucks. Because they get a 4 minute PP to eeek out a tie game. Or not. If there was ever a time to push the pace and play like Game 3 Nucking PP this would be it. Or not.
No urgency with the PP....come on
Westy
Do the canucks even give a shit if they score? Holy, lack of give-a-fuck level.
Twitch
That pathetic effort on the 4 minute PP pretty much set the Nucking tone for the game. A monotone with zero compete or finish.
With any hope of any Nucking momentum killed and buried in a shallow fashion shop in the greatest mall on Earth it's 1-0 Oil after 1. Could have been 3-1 Nucks, but that would take effort. A team effort.
1st period Canucks suck tonight
Westy
Someone in the gamethread, might have been me, but that's just an unconfirmed rumour... but someone in the gamethread noted the lack of interest in playing hockey from the Nucks was somehow tied to off ice threats.
The fix is in. Nucks have been told to throw the game... for reasons we're not allowed to know.
There's no hustle or intensity, not from even one player. Gotta be a team-directive to play passive.
jimmi
To be fair Gnarly was hustling... just not enough.
In the 2nd, gamethread is hopeful.
Good news is that we couldn't play worse than this period, so we should be better in the second.
Atty
Nucks do play a little better, giving us a little hope.
Ref trips garland...one of those nights.
Twitch
But then...
Cole needs to sit
Westy
Until 2025 preferrably.
Twitch
Gamethread, as ever, has the best strategies.
We need to screen our shots. Too easy for the goalie.
Atty
And lots of questions.
Why didn't lindholm shoot there?
Twitch
And then just when it looked like the Nucks would get out of the 2nd being just a goal down... Juuls decides to blow coverage and put a big hit on Stockieholm while taking out one of his own wingers - that's how big a hit it was. Which setup a 2-on-1 where Nudge scores on Silovs, who didn't stop the breakaway because it wasn't DrySaddling-in.
I am not even surprised or shocked by the Oils scoring the second one. We are trying to work less than the Oil and sneak in a goal or two.
Atty
No chance of that.
2-0 Nucks after 2.
I would luv to see a video comparison of a 1974 playoff game to a 2024 playoff game
It would look the exact same...right lolololololol
I'm out of breath just sitting and watching
'82wino
In the 3rd, Nucks have woken up from the 40 minute power nap and are finally ready to put some pressure on the tOil and their 2nd string backup goalie who plays like a low rent DeSmith.
Gnarly and Arty carrying the team.
Atty
Hopefully more will join.
That's the thing that is soooooo frustrating to watch. The Nucks, when the team, the entire team plays Taco Tough hockey, they can beat the McOil. When the team engages and forechecks with intensity and put pucks on net, goals will follow.
Only fitting, that Gnarland, gets the 1st Nucking goal of the game in the early 3rd. From the hard work of his linemates forechecking. 2-1 Oil.
As with most Nucking comeback stories, have to wait until the goalie is pulled in the final minutes. And guess what. The comeback kids scare the tOil. Brock puts a shot on net or on Josh's skate. 2-2 tie.
Brock!!!
Westy
Unfortunately... in the last minute with the tie assured, the Nucks play 5 mistakes in a single tirefire. The most egregious mistake was permitting passes through the 'guts' and not blocking the Bouchard shot. Total gut punch.
Oil win 3-2.
brutal end
Westy
Interesting ending...
Atty
As I said, need to play two periods. Or three is even better.
OBSERVATIONS
Ronnie has no goals, no points in 10 playoff games. Had a good game 1, terrible the last 3. If PA signs him to the 8-by-8 he wants, then we'll know JB is still filtering the paperwork.
Miller didn't have his best game. He knows it. He wasn't alone. As ever in these playoffs, we're waiting for our 'superstar' to show up.
Petey really is out of sorts. He turns to hit people with his ass and his first strides are slow
Westy
Wasting that 4 minute PP in the 1st was a game-killer. Nucks need to keep up in the special teams battle. Or at least get 1 freaking goal on 3 powerplays in the playoffs! Nucks need to move their freakin' feet once they get in the zone. Static powerplays do not work.
Too much hesitation on so many plays, as Taco calls it, "pause hockey - can't win when you have 5 or 6 passengers."
As Taco explains later, he feels some guys aren't aware the playoffs have started. In the playoffs, the work ethic must elevate, the will to win every puck battle raised. And the willingness to sacrifice the body to make the play. Unlike Miller who avoided, rather than block Bouchard's winning shot.
McOIL REEL
Watch with the sound off. It's Homer Simpson night in Edmonton.
GAME STATS
SHOTS
| CANUCKS | Period | tOIL |
| 4 | 1st | 8 |
| 9 | 2nd | 14 |
| 8 | 3rd | 8 |
| 21 | TOTAL | 30 |
TACO TEAM TALK
Taco was pissed. Almost called out some players - hello Pete.
Gnarland talks about the pressure and sustaining it.
Miller is breaking down the presser.
Capt'n Huggie is moving on.
Not a good Nucking game. One wonders what it would look like if the Nucks played fully engaged for the full 60 minutes.
Nucks get a chance to do just that on Thursday in the ROG. After getting their backs re-stripped after Taco takes a few strips out of them, they'll be ready to bounce back.
And win. As a wise commenter stated about the Oil: "They look as greazzy as your 8th grade science teacher's combover." Or something. Once the Nucks neutralize McSaddle and stay out of the box, the Oil's depth is... shallow. And greasy.
Anyhow, we all, or some of us, called the Nucks to win in 7, so it's still possible. On the bright side, we haven't seem them play their best game yet. They've got more to give.
We knew that trying to take down the Oilers wasn't gonna be easy, but we also didn't think the Canucks would already have to be taking on the league and national media in the process.
VANCOUVER CANUCKS VS EDMONTON OILERS (CANUCKS LEAD SERIES 2-1)
6:50PM PST
ROGERS PLACE, EDMONTON, AB
RADIO: SN650 TV: ESPN, SN, CBC, TVAS
We'd seen signs of it throughout the season. Various pundits and Twitterati predicting the downfall of the Canucks that would see them be able to save face on getting their preseason predictions wrong. As the season wore on, everything that was supposed to spell the end of what was easily the best story in the NHL this season, failed to do so.
The injury to Thatcher Demko earlier in the season saw Casey DeSmith and Arturs Silovs step up and hold the fort til Demko could return, only to have the situation repeat itself after Game One against Nashville. And then when DeSmith was injured, Silovs stepped in and added even more mystique to the incredible turn around of this team.
Instead of giving the Canucks credit for rebuilding their defence corps, and adding some excellent complimentary pieces, and changing the way they play, all we heard was "PDO! PDO! PDO!!!" all season long. It's not that the Canucks weren't the beneficiaries of a high PDO, but they are nowhere near as good as they've been without the improvements on team defence.
And into the playoffs, the disrespect continues. From Nashville Head Coach saying "The better team did not win" the first round series, to the barrage of analysis three games in about how it's all how the Edmonton Oilers lost Game One and Three and not how the Canucks were able to win. Even the OT win in Game Two, the Oilers had to rely on another goal from Ian Cole to get the win. I mean, where would they even be without Ian Cole's scoring? It's not that the Canucks should be having their asses kissed, but for god's sake, people can see that they're making life miserable for the Oilers, giving them few prime chances, and have vastly superior goaltending.
And then there's the officiating. It's been bad, both ways. There's no denying that. But when we see Nikita Zadorov get a $5000 fine, and Carson Soucy get suspended for a game in the same series where we've seen Darnell Nurse run Elias Pettersson headfirst into the boards, Connor McDavid highstick Quinn Hughes, Evander Kane try to kick Zadorov, as well as Warren Foegele throw a punch on Zadorov while on the bench, none of these were punished. Add in Zack Hyman crosschecking Zadorov on THE SAME BLOODY PLAY that saw Soucy suspended, and actually causing more damage than the ones the Canucks got punished for? This is why we are the way we are. This is the shit that Roger Nielson raised that towel for.
I've said it already and I'll say it again. Keep disrespecting them. Keep underestimating them. This team doesn't quit, and will continue to find ways to win. Wanna suspend Soucy? That's nice. This team has been rolling on a 'Next Man Up' mentality all season long.
In the last game, there was a lot of stuff to be positive about. They came out and had a fantastic first period, especially after giving up that early power play goal, replying with one of their own. With two goals from Brock Boeser and Elias Lindholm, they did a great job of taking the crowd out of it for a good chunk of the game.
The third period was nerve wracking, but there was more to that period than a barrage of Oilers shots. The Canucks did a great job keeping the Oilers on the perimeter, withstanding the Oilers storm and coming up with two massive penalty kills in that final frame.
They're doing a lot of things right, and will again need to stay out of the box if they hope to head back to Vancouver on Thursday for a potential elimination game. The power play has been better, but they're going to need more from some of the guys who have been quiet, and maybe another game with Linus Karlsson, who was solid in Game Three, can get Elias Pettersson out of his funk.
The Oilers, meanwhile will need to get more out of anyone not named McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman, Ekholm or Bouchard. Their depth scoring has been non-existent, and trying again to get 30 minutes a night out of McDavid and Draisaitl, especially when they're not getting the goaltending they need, is a recipe for failure. They've got their hopes pinned on a 32 year old journeyman goaltender who has less pro playoff starts than Arturs Silovs.
LINEUPS
Canucks projected lineup
Pius Suter -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser
Ilya Mikheyev -- Elias Pettersson -- Linus Karlsson
Dakota Joshua -- Elias Lindholm -- Conor Garland
Nils Aman -- Teddy Blueger -- Sam Lafferty
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Nikita Zadorov -- Tyler Myers
Ian Cole -- Noah Juulsen
Arturs Silovs
Casey DeSmith
Scratched: Mark Friedman, Phil Di Giuseppe, Christian Wolanin
Injured: Thatcher Demko (undisclosed), Nils Hoglander (undisclosed)
Suspended: Carson Soucy
Oilers projected lineup
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Connor McDavid -- Zach Hyman
Dylan Holloway -- Leon Draisaitl -- Evander Kane
Warren Foegele -- Ryan McLeod -- Corey Perry
Mattias Janmark -- Derek Ryan
Mattias Ekholm -- Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse -- Vincent Desharnais
Brett Kulak -- Cody Ceci
Philip Broberg
Calvin Pickard
Stuart Skinner
Scratched: Connor Brown, Sam Carrick, Sam Gagner, Troy Stecher
Injured: Adam Henrique (lower body)
Lots to digest here, with both teams making some tweaks. As expected, Noah Juulsen will step in for Carson Soucy. That's gonna allow Ian Cole to play his normal side and could see the Oilers secondary scoring dry up. Juulsen was quite good on the PK this year, so we'll see how that comes into play tonight. PDG is still back in Vancouver on personal leave, and it's interesting to see Nils Hoglander listed as injured. It's not something we've seen discussed up til now, so we'll have to see what comes out about that. It's worth noting that in the series between Abbotsford and Bakersfield last season, which saw Silovs and Pickard go head to head, Hoglander had 2 goals and 2 assists.
The Oilers are in desperation mode, as you can tell by splitting McDavid and Draisaitl, as well as bringing in a 7th defenceman. And if you thought Nurse and Ceci were bad, if I were a Canucks forward, I'd be licking my chops at the prospect of facing Phillip Broberg on a shift.
GAME DAY CHATTER
If you didn't get a chance yesterday, Sekeres & Price had the OG himself, Tony Gallagher on and it is an absolute must listen, as well as their response to that Mark Spector garbage from earlier in the week.
This absolutely reeks of desperation, along with switching to Calvin Pickard. Start firing pucks on Pickard from puck drop and let that seed of doubt grow.
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
Going with some old school Van City Crossover today. I was scouring YT when I stumbled across this gem, haven't heard it for at least 20 years. From 1988, this is 'Fight Back' from Vancouver's own ADVERSITY. Canucks vs The World, baby! Enjoy the game, everyone! Go Canucks Go!!!
FUN FACT: NUCKS HAVE WON 7 STRAIGHT GAMES following a loss (regular & playoffs)
What a game! A grindy grindy game. Taco's fav type of game.
This game had everything. Dueling Power Plays! Dueling Goalies! One goalie much, much better at dueling than the other. One team much, much grittier than the other.
However, the McPowerPlay opened the scoring, despite McD not getting any points on the goal.
Fuck. Have we killed a full powerplay yet this series?
Twtich
Apparently we have, but it just doesn't feel like it. Also... doesn't matter.
Because... and I'm not making it up, the comeback Nucks come back early. And often. On the PP! Not making it up.
Nucks 1st unit looks as good as the league's best unit. Miller and Huggie fed Brock. And...
WOOOO
TwitchHUGGY!BOESER
It's a 1-1 tie. And it gets better!
The Miller line was playing like they owned the joint. A wonderful sweep around the boards and around again to Brock in the slot.
BOESSSSSSS!!!!
Twitch
2 Brock goals and a 2-1 lead in the biggest hockey mall in the world.
Five minutes later the Miller line is buzzing in the O-zone... Oil cough up the puck to Suter, who passes to Brock and..
BOESER FIRST PERIOD HATTIE!!!! Holy fuck!
Twitch
Nucks lead 3-1 after 1. Turns out, after some examination, Lindy tipped Brock's shot on the PP and therefore is credited with the 2/3 hattie. Barely enough hat to cover the flow.
In the 2nd, the Nucks contrary to the wise counsel of NM and possibly the Nucks coaching staff, Nucks take a dumb penalty. Courtesy of Ronnie's extra firm hug.
As ever or at least 50% of the time DriedSaddling scores on the McPP. 3-1 Nucks.
Typical. However, untypically, the Nucks go on their 2nd PP of their period. Their 1st one was to entertain small children who giggle at clownshoes hockey.
But on the 2nd one, the Nucks 1st unit connects again. With another PP goal from Lindy. Using the rarely seen puck under skate, to stick, into the net play.
WOOOO LINDHOLM WITH 2 NOw!
Twitch
Hilarious moment as Perry thinks he's scored. However, as the puck is about to cross the goal line, Artie smothers it with his glove. No goal call on the ice. After much haranguing at CoTU Game Management, the call on the ice stands.
But still, the gamethread isn't impressed, even with the 4-on-4 play.
Getting tired of the tire fire in our own end for the second period...
Twitch
4-2 Nucks after 2.
In the 3rd, the Nucks know, we know and of course, Homer Simpson knows the McOil are going to pushback. With a new goalie in their net, as the old one allowed 4 goals on 14 shots. McD plays over 11 minutes and doesn't get a point.
Nucks are practicing their... ummm... resiliency. Despite getting outshot 22-3 in the final 20... Holy KaShmolies! That's a very big differential. No goals for the tOil at even strength.
Or on their vaunted PP. Early in Zav takes a dumb one.
That whole taking dumb penalty thing seems to have fallen upon deaf ears
Westy
Nucks PK makes the kill!
Holy crap we killed one!
Twitch
Fuck off, call the canucks for breathing heavy, let the oilers get away with multiple muggings
Twitch
However, Cole takes a dumb penalty mid-period. Which doesn't bother the gamethread.
Fucking Ian Cole takes a penalty
Westy
And again, no McScary goal.
Woo! Killed two in a row! Whoda thunk it.
Twitch
However, in the final few minutes, Oil pull Pickhard... and the Oil score 6-on-5 and because he hasn't had much gamethread chatter, pucks goes off him past Artie.
Off Ian Fucking Cole again!
Twitch
tOilers then pull Pickhard to put Skinnerd back in, only to pull him. So confusing.
Doesn't matter. Nucks play desperate shot blockers. Artie plays cool puck stopper.
Despite the Nucks getting waaaaaaaay outshot and spending an hour of the 20 minute period in their own zone, they kept most the 500 shot attempts to the outside.
And more importantly, Nucks win 4-3 in tOil Country! Wooooo!
OBSERVATIONS
In last 3 mins, high danger shots were 1-1. So, that's pretty good.
Cole needs to check the team name on his contract. Maybe he could read the fine print in the pressbox in the next game. Or read the tea leaves and stop betting on red. Or black. Or hire a luck whisperer. Or something.
FUN FACTS:
Nucks are now 4 and oh on the road in the playoffs.
Nucks have played 7 consecutive games decided by a single goal.
Nucks have 167 shots in 8 playoff games. 2nd fewest in playoff history.
Nucks are 11-6 in playoff games when leading a series 2-1.
Bess and Lindy are the first pair of Nucks to score 2 goals in a playoff game since 2010.
McD scored 0 points in the game, for the 1st time in this year's playoffs.
Myers did NOT take a penalty! Had 7 hits, got an assist and blocked a hundred shots.
EP had no shots, no points and wasn't strong on defensive coverage - hence the 15:49 TOI - with 4 higher dangers against.
DrieYouEyesSaddle whined after the game about hitting the post - claiming that's not good goaltending. Hitting the post is also not considered good shooting - doesn't even count as a shot. In the game tOil had 4 poor shots on the post.
Funny he didn't mention Artie stopping him cold on a breakaway.
While we know the tOilers are a one line team, they refuse to admit it... but even HNIC sees what we see.
After listening to oilers fans for the past two weeks yell about how "we're NOT a one line team!!" it was actually lovely to hear the whole panel talk about how they're...a one line team.
Twitch
McD played 29:42, his DryLineMate played 29:04 and their Hyman maneuver played 26:12 in a losing cause. In regulation. That must mean either the tOil is a one line team or the rest of the Oiling forwards were playing between periods.
WINNING REEL IN OILTOWN
Again, the win is tempered by having Cootbert and Homer Simpson drone on about how to play the McStars more.
GAME STATS
SHOTS
OMG! So Many Shots against!
| CANUCKS | Period | tOIL |
| 11 | 1st | 9 |
| 4 | 2nd | 14 |
| 3 | 3rd | 22 |
| 18 | TOTAL | 45 |
PLAYER POINTS
| G | A | S | +/- | H | TOI | |
| BOESER | 2 | 1 | 4 | +3 | 4 | 20:52 |
| LINDHOLM | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 20:22 | |
| MILLER | 2 | 2 | +1 | 5 | 21:50 | |
| SUTER | 1 | 2 | +1 | 14:37 | ||
| HUGHES | 2 | 2 | +1 | 1 | 21:14 | |
| MYERS | 1 | 0 | +1 | 7 | 22:56 | |
| Saves | Shots | SV% | ||||
| SILOVS | 42 | 45 | .933 |
TACO TEAM TALK
"We just grinded it out" - Coach Taco
Doubling the scoreline and the presser, Bess and Lindy.
Capt'n Huggie scoring points and making points.
Artie just chilling and stopping 42 shots.
A Taco Tough grindy grindy game where the Nucks outplayed, outscored the Oil in the 1st and grindy grindy grinded out the rest of the game. Ain't playoff hockey fun?
Something something about defence and winning.
Nucks back to work on Tuesday in the well-Oiled Mall of Hockey. The tOilers seemed to be pissed-off that this 'inferior' team is up in the series. So we can expect more chippiness. Do we care? The Nucks can happily play chippy underdog hockey. And win. No run 'n gun stuff tho.
Western Conference Second Round, Game 3
Best-of-7 series tied 1-1
9:30 p.m. TVAS, SN, SN1, TBS, truTV, MAX
After losing in O/T, the Canucks need to take a breath and get ready for a loud Edmonton area and find a way to slow McDavid down.
Am I disappointed that the Canucks lost in O/T? Of course. Before the series started, would I have taken a1-1 series after 2 games, hell yeah. McDavid and Draisaitl have 238 point between them in the regular season and lead point-getters in the playoffs. There are no easy series at this point and the Canucks are going to have to find ways to make less mistakes...eh em...Ian Cole. Talk about a guy with bad ju-ju. The Oilers are skating and shooting right him every chance they get. Tyler Myers didn't have the best game on Friday either, as the Oilers have several players that have the wheels to get around him on the outside. He has an injury that has slowed him down....even more.
One area I wish Taco would address, is the the defense collapsing to far inside their own blueline on rushes. They need to force the issue faster and let the forwards come back and pick pockets. While the Canucks had a distinct advantage with hits, a lot of the hits didn't help the Canucks get the puck back. Taco wants his team to hold the puck more, to control more of the play and get better shots. Going into Edmonton, without the last change, Canuck players are going to have to adjust to be out there against McDavid and Draisaitl and keep them to the outside.
Taco was asked about the Lotto line and it seemed that he wasn't impressed. As a coach, he always stresses the defensive end to create offence and so he doesn't like those three together in their own end. He also said that forward changes might be coming and mentioned Hogs, who could be replaced by Karlsson. I would love to see Podz out there hitting people, but instead PDG is the second guy who could be out and Aman is in.
The talk on the Tweet-tweet continues to be about the officiating in the last game. Move on internet. The Canucks had enough chances to score and the tying goal only happened because of the keystone cops routine at the Oilers blueline. Did the refs get all the calls and on calls right...fuck no, but the Canucks had chances to add goals and blew it.
Shout out to the moms reading this...Hi Mom.
Quinn seems all business today in the scrum and he scarred face is probably the least painful part of his body as the Oilers continue to finish their checks on him.
Canucks projected lineup
Pius Suter -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser
Linus Karlsson -- Elias Pettersson -- Ilya Mikheyev
Dakota Joshua -- Elias Lindholm -- Conor Garland
Nils Aman -- Teddy Blueger -- Sam Lafferty
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Carson Soucy -- Tyler Myers
Nikita Zadorov -- Ian Cole
Arturs Silovs
Casey DeSmith
Scratched: Mark Friedman, Phil Di Giuseppe, Noah Juulsen, Christian Wolanin
Injured: Thatcher Demko (undisclosed), Nils Hoglander (undisclosed)
Oilers projected lineup
Leon Draisaitl -- Connor McDavid -- Zach Hyman
Warren Foegele -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Evander Kane
Dylan Holloway -- Ryan McLeod -- Corey Perry
Mattias Janmark -- Derek Ryan -- Connor Brown
Mattias Ekholm -- Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse -- Cody Ceci
Brett Kulak -- Vincent Desharnais
Stuart Skinner
Calvin Pickard
Scratched: Sam Carrick, Sam Gagner, Troy Stecher
Injured: Adam Henrique (lower body)
Status report
Karlsson may replace Hoglander, but Tocchet said a decision has not been made. ... Aman replaces Di Giuseppe on the fourth line. ... Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said how much time Draisaitl and McDavid play together on the same line again in Game 3 will depend on what the Canucks do with their lines. ... Brown is in for Henrique, a forward who played Game 2 after missing the opener. - NHL.COM
Game Day Battle Hymn
Game 3...getting a game in Edmonton would be awesome. The Oilers under McDavid have a history of choking and they rattling them tonight would be a great step to the paramedics practicing their Heimlichs for the Oilers. Time for the Canucks to coming firing.
Go Canucks Go!
Remember the last time the Nucks won an OT playoff game in the ROG?
No... even longer. 2011.
Anyhow, it was a big pushback game from the McDryMan trio. A little too much for our Nukcing gourmet tastes.
Didn't start that way.
Nucks get an early PP. And contrary to expectations, score a big goal!
OMG OMG OMG PETETYTTEWYE SCORED!!!
Twitch
Pete scores his 1st goal of the playoffs! Woooo! 1-0 Nucks.
Unfortunately, the Oil score on their 1st PP of the game.
1st time the Nucks give up the lead. 1-1 after 1.
The penalty period, also known as the 2nd, begins with the teams 4-on-4 in the 1st minute.
Off the face off while HNIC are busy blabbing and blabbing...
God listening to simmer blow smoke up the oilers' collective ass is kind of amazing. Like some skilled mental gymnastics going on by him.
Twitch
While the smoke blowing continues, Soucy puts a shot on net, Brock tips it down under Skinnesh. 2-1 Nucks.
Unfortunately, a minute later, Soucy and Zav miscommunicate behind their own net and giveaway the puck... DrySaddle passes out to an unchecked Heckholm and it's a 2-2 tie.
2nd time the Nucks have given up the 1 goal lead.
In this period, Kelly 'Game Fixer' Sutherland was living up to his billing. Using the old missed call gambit - as he used in the 1st period when Nurse drilled Pete into the boards. This missed call was on McLadyBing who high sticks Huggie and draws blood. Not a follow through, just a nasty lazy stick.
Cut too... four minutes stolen from us.
Twitch
And worse... because Quinn is leaking blood from his face, has to leave the ice for repairs.
McDavid is a cheap fuck.
Twitch
There's 4 minutes of Nucking PP that might have tilted the game. Maybe not as much as how tilted it got in the 3rd, but still.
Won't mention the slew foot on Huggie that wasn't called.
Doesn't matter.
What matters is that Zav is going to make the Oil pay. The best way possible. Skating in and scoring from a bad angle on Skinnter - who shoulda had it.
WOOOOO BIG ZED!
Twitch
Nikita is my hero
Westy
3-2 Nucks after 2. Wooo!
All that oilers cheating and whining and cheap shots, still get scored on.
Twitch
Just before the 2nd ended, Kelly Game Maker did make a call on Suter for taking a dumb penalty. Stupid interference on Untouchable McAllStar.
Nucks managed to kill it to start to 3rd.
Unfortunately, while the Nucks killed off the penalty, also killed off their Nucking momentum, and stopped playing hard to play against.
On a bad turnover in the O-zone, McD gets the puck, Saint Soucy hits McD who gets to the puck and skates past Myers and well... scores.
3-3 tie. 3rd time the Nucks have given up the lead. And there's still 15 minutes left to play.
For the McOil trio to play. So much zone time. So many shots on Silovs - who stopped them all. Also more cheap shots on Huggie.
Holy Kane with the dirty as fuck slew foot on huggy near the boards. Zaddy needs to crush him.
Twitch
Hughes blatantly tripped by perry, no call.
Twitch
Sutherland had done his part for Gary's new sports betting empire and no penalties were called in the 3rd.
The Nuck were outplayed, out-reffed and outshot 15-2 in the 3rd. And only gave up a single goal. Small victories. Still 3-3 after 3.
In OT, both teams were keeping it tight. Until the Nucks decided forechecking wasn't for them. McD is allowed to pick up the puck behind his net, get on his bionic horse-thighs and gallop full speed up the ice.
All the Nucks seem transfixed on the speed. Laff could have rubbed McSpeedy on the boards, but didn't. Worse, no one covers DriedSaddle who passes out to Bouchard who puts the shot pass on Cole's stick, who scores.
Big sigh.
Atty
Can't believe that Cole scores on us the last two games.
Cole again. Can we just put him on LTIR or something?
Twitch
Oil win 4-3 in OT. Ugh.
Observations
Nucks played pretty good in the 1st 40 minutes. The last 20... well... not so much.
Maybe Cole has been the net front presence that the Oil were looking for at the TDL. Has been a key player in 4 goals against us. In only 2 games this series! He's a playoff vet and Taco feels sorry for him. How sad. Taco can also feel bad for him by sitting him for a game or two. Except... how would Juul's 10 minutes of playoff experience do against the McD line? Don't know until you try. Or do you?
ROG REELING
Another dreadful HNIC game coverage. Cluckbert and Homer Simpson are not at the level we enjoyed from Shortie, Dave and Ferrari during the regular.
GAME STATS
SHOTS
| tOil | Period | CANUCKS |
| 7 | 1st | 5 |
| 6 | 2nd | 10 |
| 15 | 3rd | 2 |
| 3 | OT | 2 |
| 31 | TOTAL | 19 |
TACO TEAM TALK
Taco talks about keeping the puck on your stick just a little longer.
Miller talking about go easy on us.
Pete speaks! And scores!
Capt'n Huggie talks about hit in the face with an AllStar stick.
Thanks in small or large part from Kelly's Betting Officiating and Jobbing League, it's a series split at home. That's how it played out in Round 1. And the Nucks went on win 2 on the road. Could it happen again? Let's find out.
Another comeback win as the boys in blue & green blew the roof off Rogers Arena Wednesday night. Can they build on a dominant performance and head off to Edmonton with a 2-0 series lead?
VANCOUVER CANUCKS VS EDMONTON OILERS (CANUCKS LEAD SERIES 1-0)
7:00PM PST
ROGERS ARENA, VANCOUVER, BC
RADIO: SN650 TV: TNT, truTV, MAX, SN, SN360, CBC, TVAS
For every talking head that spent their time complaining how boring the first round series between the Canucks and Nashville was, the feeling that this was somehow the Canucks fault was blown out of the water with that game on Wednesday night. And while Nashville's head coach is probably still whining that 'the better team didn't win' that series, the Canucks gave the Oilers, and the hockey world a refresher course on what this team was built for.
And half way through the 2nd period, when Edmonton stretched their lead to 4-1, if you weren't watching the game, it would be natural to assume that the Oilers that ran roughshod through the NHL after the hiring of Kris Knoblauch were simply doing to the Canucks what they did to the LA Kings in round one. If you were watching the game however, you'd have seen that the Oilers were extremely fortunate to be up at all, let alone by three goals.
And sure, there was an element of the Oilers sitting back a bit, but any attempts to push forward were being met by one of the better defensive performances this year by the Canucks, most notably by the jaw dropping stat of Connor McDavid being held shotless in the playoffs for the first time in his career. Throw in a now obviously injured Leon Draisaitl, and the way the Canucks absolutely abused the defence pairing of Cody Ceci and Darnell Nurse, and it would appear rumours of the Canucks imminent demise were indeed unfounded.
A lot has been said about how the Canucks are underdogs here. That the Oilers, vastly more experienced and talented, will continue on their roll towards a Cup berth. The Canucks meanwhile, as they've done all season long, refuse to buy into these narratives, and have continued making their doubters look foolish.
So with a healthy three goal lead, Arturs Silovs shut the door, the Canucks held the Oilers shotless for over 22 minutes, and the Canucks showed the hockey world they can still be dominant at 5 on 5, and the acquisitions of Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov became even larger. Big Z has been an absolute force in the post-season for the Canucks, with another goal and solid defensive play. And Lindholm. along with linemates Dakota Joshua and Conor Garland were a threat all night, in addition to an outstanding performance in their own end.
The key here is more of the same. While the majority of pundits said that the Canucks domination of the Oilers during the regular season meant nothing, that the playoffs were a different beast and the Oilers a different team now. Wednesday showed that to be untrue, as the Canucks, sticking to the gameplan that they've used all season, and got the same result in the end. This team was built to neutralize teams like McDavid, Draisaitl and the Oilers, and if they can continue to keep Edmonton's fearsome power play off the ice, they'll be just fine. Unless of course, something happens that drastically alters things tonight...
Oh, boy. I'd say we should expect at least 5 Oilers PPs tonight. This is gonna be a tough one.
LINEUPS
Oilers projected lineup
Warren Foegele -- Connor McDavid -- Zach Hyman
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Leon Draisaitl -- Evander Kane
Dylan Holloway -- Ryan McLeod -- Corey Perry
Mattias Janmark -- Derek Ryan -- Connor Brown
Mattias Ekholm -- Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse -- Cody Ceci
Brett Kulak -- Vincent Desharnais
Stuart Skinner
Calvin Pickard
Scratched: Philip Broberg, Jack Campbell, Sam Carrick, Ryan Fanti, Sam Gagner, Troy Stecher
Injured: Adam Henrique (undisclosed)
Canucks projected lineup
Pius Suter -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser
Nils Hoglander -- Elias Pettersson -- Ilya Mikheyev
Dakota Joshua -- Elias Lindholm -- Conor Garland
Phillip Di Giuseppe -- Teddy Blueger -- Sam Lafferty
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Carson Soucy -- Tyler Myers
Nikita Zadorov -- Ian Cole
Arturs Silovs
Casey DeSmith
Scratched: Mark Friedman, Nils Aman, Noah Juulsen, Vasily Podkolzin, Nikita Tolopilo
Injured: Thatcher Demko (undisclosed)
So it's a game time decision, but all signs point to Draisaitl trying to play through whatever it is that's ailing him. Doesn't appear to be any other changes though we could see Sam Carrick fill in for Draisaitl if he can't go. No changes for the Canucks, and below we've got the list of Black Ace callups from the Abbotsford Canucks since they were eliminated from the AHL Playoffs Wednesday night.
GAME DAY CHATTER
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
Sometimes, metal gets a bad rap for being obsessed with the darker sides of existence, and to be fair, so much of the music lends itself to that. For me, it's a way to get the anger and frustration out of my system, but sometimes there's metal tracks that are just so wholesome and good you wanna share them. TEXAS TOAST CHAINSAW MASSACRE are a thrash band from Chicago who have a new album coming June 28th that you can get for free on their Bandcamp page! This is now my favourite song of all time, and it goes out to all the good boys and girls out there. This is 'I Wanna Pet Your Dog'. Crank it, take your dog for a nice pregame walk and then enjoy the game, everyone! Go Canucks Go!
BIGGEST, BADDEST NUCKING COMEBACK WIN Since the Previous Century!
1st time this century, the Nucks have comeback from a 3 goal deficit to win!
This ALL-Canadian matchup, despite CoTU not fully embracing that Canada extends past the Rockies Manitoba, despite that, this is the 2nd round matchup that had the hockey world buzzing. The part of the hockey world out in the furthest corner of Gary's empire.
The Nucks were billed as the underdogs as the 'This is the year' Oil were touted as the clear fav to win the series, possibly even sweep it.
In the 1st, the Nucks were playing to their strengths. Vowed pre-game to not take any dumb penalties. So, of course, not even a minute in, Nucks took a dumb penalty. Or Cole did. Jumping too soon on a line change.
Nice job guys Too many Canucks
Westy
Nucks defended the nutzo Oil PP well. For the 1st minute of the dumb penalty. In the last part of the PK, Nucks gave up a goal as McD swept a crease-front pass to the Hyman maneuverer who shot into the near empty net. 1-0 Oil.
That's not so bad. Until Taco keeps Cole in the game. Who panics under pressure and inexplicable gives away the puck to DrySaddle. Who passes it out to the Preds former Big-D, who shoots and scores.
Ian Cole sucks tonight
Westy
Cole gives it away 10 ft from their net...then bank passes from our net to an Emo and picks up a 2nd assist on the goal
'82wino
2-0 Oil after 1. The ROG is subdued. Like the gamethread.
that was a tough period to watch....slow...bumping into each other.....not getting the puck out along the boards....no shots
Westy
The Nucks had 5 shots. 2 from Gnarly. That's not so bad. 10 shots from the Oil tho.
In the 2nd, within the first minute, Cole gets a little redemption. Puts a shot on net, but misses, because 'Ian Cole sucks tonight' but hits the end boards with a perfect rebound to Josh who buries it top shelf over the Skinning goalie.
Awsome Josh.
Atty
Josh, he is money.
People keep saying that we can't afford him next year, but he may be more useful in the playoffs than Petey.
2-1 Oil. That's not so bad.
But, if you haven't heard... Cole is not having a good night. Loses his check, Silovs loses sight of the puck and CeCeCeCeSi scores from the point.
Ian Cole adds a goal
Westy
Cole assists again.
Atty
Game thread are seeing things that perhaps Taco isn't.
Why is cole still on the ice?? Holy fuck tocchet are you not watching him?
Twitch
3-1 Oil. That's not so bad.
But then it turns bad, as Hyman maneuvers into the Nucks zone and puts a shot on net that seems, to Silvos and us, is going far side. But Myers get his stick on Hyman's stick at that last instant and puck goes to the middle and scoots under Artie's pads.
4-1....might be an early night
Westy
We felt it might be. The ROG did too. The Oil haven't given up a 3 goal lead in over 18 months. Beat LA 1-0, so now what it takes to keep a lead in the playoffs. What they didn't know is the one word for this season's Nucks.
Resilient. That's the one word description the Nucks gave themselves. And through round 1, lived it like they meant it.
Late 2nd, the tides of False Creek are turning. Nucks are pressuring the Oil and our new clutch playoff performer, Lindy, puts a shot across the crease. But Skinnier puts the puck off his skate into his net.
WOOO LINDY!!
Twitch
4-2 after 2. And the big, big Nucking comeback is just getting started.
In the 3rd, Nucks are dominating the Oil. No, really.
Mid period, Zav and DrySourPaddle go off together for roughing. It's 4-on-4 against McD. We're not scared. RNH clangs one off the post. No worries. Soucy, Brock and Miller go the other way. Soucy sends a cross-ice pass to Brock who sends a shot/pass to Miller, who channels his inner/outer Sid and roofs it over the Skinned-man. 4-3 Oil.
NOTE: NM Server Meltdown happens just as the ROG is going wild and the gamethreaders are going wild on their keyboards and devices. While the low cost NM server was reliable for the regular, it seems it's just not built for the playoffs. Pete knows how that feels.
Before NM's crack staff of a single IT guy can get the server out of its comatose and slow Cole-like state, the Nucks strike again!
Zav skates into the well-oiled zone, takes a beauty pass from Blueger and fires a puck full of McInnis past the helpless Skinnered goalie.
4-4 tie game! ROG is going nutz!
Nikita .....oh my!
Westy
Less than a minute later, no, really. Less than a minute later Zav sends a pass to Josh who passes to a streaking Gnarland who zips in, fakes the shot and puts wrister between the Skinny pads. 5-4 Nucks with 5 minutes to go!
Garland! 5-4!!!!!!!!
Westy
WOOO GARLAND! I felt like he was gonna score! (cuz you guys said so a couple minutes ago)
Twitch
In the last 3 minutes the Oil empty their net and try to get all fancy six-on-fivey, but they're missing the net and Nucks are blocking shots. Even Brock.
Nucks win 5-4! WOOOOOOO!
While the game thread might have been getting kinda Gretzky time dilation, the ROG was going berserk.
This website seemed to be down for the last 5 minutes of the game..so I could not celebrate in real time.
Atty
This is the second miracle game for us.
Miracle. Or resilient comeback game. Just like the Nucks planned.
Doesn't matter.
What matters, this is only the 2nd time in Nucking history the Nucks have comeback from a 3 goal deficit to win in the playoffs. Last time? Nucks in '94 with Adams topping the comeback in OT.
My dear God, what an ending...
Atty
Forget about the Lotto line.
Our 3rd line won the game. 1 goal for each guy.
FUN FACTS:
ROG REELING HARD
As wonderful as this amazing comeback win was... Sportynet of the CoTu had to spoil the play-by-play by pulling Shortie and Dave. Replacing them with Cuthert and Homer Simpson. D'oh. Oh well... a Nucking win on HNIC is the sweetest win of all.
GAME STATS
SHOTS
| tOil | Period | CANUCKS |
| 10 | 1st | 5 |
| 4 | 2nd | 11 |
| 4 | 3rd | 8 |
| 18 | TOTAL | 24 |
PLAYER POINTS
| G | A | S | +/- | H | TOI | |
| JOSHUA | 1 | 1 | 2 | +3 | 8 | 14:30 |
| GNARLAND | 1 | 2 | +1 | 0 | 14:23 | |
| MILLER | 1 | 1 | +1 | 4 | 14:23 | |
| LINDHOLM | 1 | 1 | 5 | +2 | 5 | 17:39 |
| ZADOROV | 1 | 1 | 3 | +1 | 1 | 18:00 |
| BOESER | 1 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 21:52 | |
| HOGLANDER | 1 | 0 | +1 | 0 | 10:26 | |
| COLE | 1 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 13:03 | |
| BLUEGER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10:18 | |
| PETTERSSON | 3 | 0 | 4 | 19:09 | ||
| Saves | Shots | SV% | ||||
| SILOVS | 14 | 18 | .778 |
TACO TEAM TALK
So, so much to talk about...
Making us believe, Huggie and Josh.
Gnarly chats about digging holes and filling them in.
Lindy never gives up in a presser.
Artie talks... not about those in the gamethread who pulled him in the 2nd, obviously.
Zav kidding around with the media.
Wow! Too short a word for this comeback effort. We'll be going wooooooooooo for at least a day.
However, on Friday it's back to screaming in the ROG and in the gamethread - now with a beefier server.
How's back-to-back ROG wins sound? Let's find out.
The first round is over and Kent was the big winner, as he chose every series winner in the first round of the west. I want what he is drinking
Game 1: Avalanche at Stars -- May 7, 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN, SN, SN360, TVAS)
Game 2: Avalanche at Stars -- May 9, 9:30 p.m. ET (TNT, MAX, truTV, SN, SN360, TVAS)
Game 3: Stars at Avalanche -- May 11, 10 p.m. ET (TNT, MAX, truTV, SN, SN1, TVAS)
Game 4: Stars at Avalanche -- May 13, TBD (ESPN, TVAS)
+ Game 5: Avalanche at Stars -- May 15, TBD (TBD)
+ Game 6: Stars at Avalanche -- May 17, TBD (TBD)
+ Game 7: Avalanche at Stars -- May 19, TBD (TBD)
Westy - I didn't pick any of these teams to make it to this round. You can tell what type of expert I am. I really hope that Dallas can keep up with the firepower of Colorado and after beating Vegas, maybe they can. If I am a true believer, I want the Stars to win, as the Canucks don't have a shot to beat Colorado. I said it. Unfortunately, years of cheering the Canucks and hoping for the best led me to choosing this....Avs in 6
jimmi - Well... I did pick the Stars to beat the Long Term Indebted Knights in 6 games. Fortunately they stretched it to 7, to give us and the Nucks and extra day of rest. Unfortunately, I need a few weeks of rest and my hindsight field glasses to definitively pick this tilt. This could be an interesting series. If it wasn't about central div teams that I dinna care about until Round 3. In that spirit of ambivalence, going to say the Avs are too well rested and Stars are just beat up enough to win in 7 to 9 games... so Stars in 7, because it would be nice to see Gumby back in the ROG getting beat once again.
Kent- No surprise at all to see these two teams battling it out for the Central crown, and while it's definitely going to be a close series, I feel like one team has some advantages over the other, and that would be them thar Dallas Stars. Marginally better goaltending, and better depth overall for the Stars should help them to win out over the firepower of the Avs here. Colorado's still in their window, but it feels like they're in need of a couple upgrades to get back to the finals. Stars in 7
Game 1: Oilers at Canucks -- May 8, 10 p.m. ET (ESPN, SN, SN360, CBC, TVAS)
Game 2: Oilers at Canucks -- May 10, 10 p.m. ET (TNT, MAX, truTV, SN, SN360, CBC, TVAS)
Game 3: Canucks at Oilers -- May 12, 9:30 p.m. ET (TBS, MAX, truTV, SN, SN360, TVAS)
Game 4: Canucks at Oilers -- May 14, TBD (ESPN, TVAS)
+ Game 5: Oilers at Canucks -- May 16, TBD (TBD)
+ Game 6: Canucks at Oilers -- May 18, TBD (TBD)
+ Game 7: Oilers at Canucks -- May 20, TBD (TBD)
Westy -
Such a weird narrative to occur from the actual results from the year. The Oilers did suck at the start of the year and then changed coaches and had a long winning streak, like Nashville, so I guess that's enough for the pundits to see for them to choose Edmonton. I do realize that the Oilers have a 50-goal scorer and two 100-point scorers, plus a deadly PP and good PK....but fuck Edmonton. They are perennial chokers. The Canucks need to stay out of the box and play the boring style of hockey and pounce on mistakes. Van in 7
jimmi - This series is going to fun! It is! We're right back where we've been so comfortable for so long. The Underdog team. Sure, we may have won the division, but now that we're playing our 3rd goalie and 5th (or is it 6th) narrative, all the pressure is back on the tOilers. Where it belongs. All the 'experts' are picking the Oil to win. Just like they picked them to win right at the start of the season. Be hilarious if the Nucks could bookend the season...
There's only a couple things the Nucks need to do to win the series. Score moar goals! And not do. DO NOT take stupid penalties. Or any penalties. The other thing is... Millsie, Lindy, Bluesey and our Big-D need to hound, frustrate and pound McD, his DrySadler and his Hyman maneuver. If those uberistas are frustrated, Pete can compete with 3 to 5 points a game. Simple.
With that simple formula in place, it will simply be the Nucks in 7. Hockey is a simple game, with simple plays to entertain the simpleminded.
Kent- Oh, the toxicity! *makes wanking gesture* I think the most overrated thing about this matchup is the fan bases. Seriously, who gives a shit about whose fans are worse, like every fan base isn't filled with obnoxious online assholes you'd cross the street to avoid acknowledging? So much bandwidth is being pumped into talking how awful Canucks and Oilers fans are, and the majority of it comes from the rest of the country who find themselves having to take Boston Pizza's horrible ad campaign's advice and pick a team to cheer for. Here's my advice: Don't like the Canucks or Oilers? Cry harder. Seriously, after the shit people spewed in 2011 (and since), I couldn't possibly care less about what other fan bases have to say, especially when it comes to the Canucks. Pick the Oilers to win. Some might get upset about that. I'll just add you to the list of those who were made to look foolish for thinking this was all some kind of fluke.
So, what's this going to boil down to: the Canucks needing a miracle to somehow beat a year-long Cup favourite, or do the Canucks really have the Oilers number, as they showed during the regular season? I'm not gonna troll and say that the Oilers didn't look impressive against LA, but at the same time, LA's game plan was so easily countered by Edmonton, it's a shock they didn't sweep. The Kings weren't the tough opponent everyone thought, and the Oilers showed that.
The Canucks will need some miraculous work in the crease from Arturs Silovs, and they'll need their defensive corps to continue the strong work they did against Nashville. They were outstanding against McDavid, Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins and Hyman this year, and this team's defensive mindset was built to counter the Oilers and their attack. They must get more offensively from damn near everyone on this team, but since we don't expect the Oilers to trap the shit out of every game the way Nashville did, expect more scoring. Also, Stuart Skinner may be a good story, and a decent enough goalie, but he's not Juuse Saros. If the Canucks vastly improved PK can keep the Oilers relatively in check, they can pull off the (slight) upset. I think it's a coin toss, honestly, but I believe that Cinderella's time at the dance is far from done. Canucks in 7
