If you're gonna lose, you wanna lose by 5-2.
BC Ferries have stranded some key players at the dock. And it's 5 games in 7 nights - this stinker on the road in another foreign time zone.
Game started well for the thrill seeking gamethread.
Lafferty has kind of been an adventure so far this game.
Twitch
Started better for the Nucks PP. Miller setup Pete for a wicked shot past Marky. 1-0 Nucks mid 1st.
By the end of the 1st it's 1-1, because tired Nucks get out-rushed.
The 2nd period, the former period the Nucks owned with the best DIFF in the biz - they're not even renting it this game. Nucks got outshot 17-5 and outscored 2-0. Ouch!
DeSmith got doobed by Dubay as he lost track of where the puck trickled thru him. On the 2nd Flames goal in the 2nd, Pete was pawned by Handafin and DeSmith allowed another little trickle.
Game thread aren't bothered by the red lighting.
Jeez those flashing red lights on the ice are really annoying... that's so calgary, I guess.
Twitch
Nucks down 3-1 after 2. That's not so bad. Other than the Nucks are out of gas and the Nucks D-corp is sponsored by BC Ferries and exploited by the opposition.
In the 3rd then Nucks score another goal, because you can't lose 5-2 by only scoring one. Hogz got the goal from the slot on the type of play that Taco likes.
Refs do their part by missing a 4 bleeding minute high stick on Gnarly. Won't mention Gnarly taking the Nucks off their 2 min PP. Or why he was on the PP at that point. Only Taco knows for sure.
Also.. can't lose 5-2 if you don't let the Flames score another 2. And they do.
The Exhausting
Huggie played 30 mins last night and had to grind out 23 tonight. Quinn ended the tired game with a minus -3. Pete, our league scoring leader, finished with an unPetey minus-4.
The Millsie line wasn't much better 5-on-5, much like the other cobbled together lines. Lines that will be descrambled for Saturday as Kuz is scheduled to return. And Karlsson will be bounced. And Taco willing, Gnarly will return to the 3rd line since his elevation to the top line was not a top choice.
A stinker game. The 2nd stinker within a week. Is that concerning? Maybe. Maybe not. Someone should ask Westy. If he's concerned, then we may have a problem.
Losing Soucy for 6-8 weeks is definitely a problem. But the Nucks management and coaches love solving problems, so... no worries.
Flaming Homer Reel
It's bad enough to lose any game in Cowtown, but when the game is covered by Homer Simpson Ball and Homer Hrudey, the loss is the more excruciating.
STATS (the fugly)
TACO TALK
Have to learn to play tired - we coulda hung round there when it was 2-1... but a couple mistakes...
Coach Taco
With this weirdo home and road Back-To-Back out of the way, Nucks start another grindy-grindy 5 games in 7 nights on Saturday. To start the grind they host semi-local, semi-rival from Seatown in the ROG.
This could be fun... if Alvin & the Chipmonks can find a temporary, highly skilled and paid, low cost D to cover for Soucy while he's on the BC Ferries extended cruise. Or... the top players could outscore their defensive problems. Or the remaining roster could return to playing the Tough Taco method.
