THE EIGHT GAME ROAD W STREAK IS OVER - IN WORST THE WAY!
Remember when the Nucks would venture out into the eastern provinces to play road games and a couple would be back-to-back and that feeling of dread and loathing would well up in our beer bellies even before the 2nd B-2-B game began?
IT"S BACK! That horrible dread we thought was banished.
Since it was a back to back and Lanky shutout the Boos last night, it's up to Arty to get a game in. Get a win in would be good, but geez, he already has a win on the books this season. Let's not get greedy here.
First the good news... Capt'n Huggie scored one of the prettiest end-to-end rush goals we'll ever see in a B-2-B game. Such a pretty goal wasted on game the sluggish starting Nucks lost 2 periods earlier. Yay(ish) Nuggish!
Now for the bad news...
The Pens start the 1st with the 1st goal of the game on their 1st shot.
Hronek fedler leads to a goal by lizotte...
Twitch
Since the Nucking 4th line aren't exhausted from the playing and travel, at least they can skate up the ice and score. Raty ties the game mid-period and the rest of the Nucks can take the rest of the period off.
As those Nuckleheads aren't ready for another game so soon. Can we just fast forward (slowly) to the late 3rd?
Apparently not. As the Pens, the nearly last place team in the NHL realize this is their time to be early season Cup champs. And the Nucks have to get over the jet bus hotel lag and need more time to sober up as well.
Pens walking the canucks… 2-1
Twitch
And then the previous hero goes to zero or the box and the Pens PP score.
Down 3-1 in the 1st on the road is never good. But wait! It's the Nucks, can always get worse.
Our defense doing their best to make Silovs cry. 4-1, this game is over.
Twitch
Silovs is earning a bus ticket to Kalamazoo.
Ripper
Hope not. Playing the Wings in a few days.
That's it. Game is over. Except it's only the end of the 1st period. Pens lead 4-1.
And yet, Nucks still have to grind out couple more periods...
Early in the 2nd, the Pens get another goal... because why not?
Pens are leading 5-1 in the 2nd. The league's new bottom feeder team are feasting on the 'contender' Canucks. Nucks being road food is not that appetizing.
On the bright side, Suter gets his teaming leading 7th goal.
Nucks only down 3 goals going into the 3rd.
3rd starts with that beauty end-2-end rush goal from Huggie.
With that obvious change in momentum, the good old and tired Nucking comeback is sparked, Hoggie draws a call and the Nucks get a PP. That's good, right?
… PP looking like ass…best chance so far was a shortie by the pens…
Twitch
Fine. Nucks will do it the old tired 5-on-5 way. Except the urgency while there's still time isn't there. But no worries, the refs can pick up the slack.
Gnarly gets the weakest call in recent memory. Which was last night in B-town.
Nucks kill that off, and get back in gear... only to discover there's a new infraction that Raty inflicted on that Kid guy.
High Helmeting?
Twitch
Seems like that's a thing now.
Finally with no actual time left in the game, Nucks let Arty get some bench searching time while flashing a fluorescent hockey company logo on his big stick... which, not unlike him, looks big on the bench, just not on the ice.
With the net empty as our hopes, Nucks score as Pete pops the Huggie shot rebound off Gnarly's back into the net. Yay! That's Pete's 7th and shared team leading goal.
Bottom dwelling Pens gut out a 5-4 win over the 1st period-adverse Canucks.
OBSERVATIONS
Anything else? Yes!
WAKE THE FORK UP! START THE FORKING GAME WHEN THE FORKING GAME STARTS, SLACKERS!
Video Replay
Shortie and Dave watching the sleepy Nucks get a wakeup call.
GAME STATS
PLAYER POINTS (many points, but still not enough points)
PLAYERS 'N TACO TALK
Huggie got a goal, 2 apples and a sour loss.
Pete talks about the starting the game of mistakes on time. And what to bring every night.
Taco Talks about playing small when you need to be big. And channeled his inner gifting Green Man.
The Nucks gorgeous 8 game road winning streak is busted and covered in Rust. Badaboom.
At least this disappointing road game loss is not that big of a big picture deal. It just that this was a winnable game, if they started the game when the game started. And played like they had to keep the choice chances away from Arty.
But the road trip could get worse. Appeared Ronnie was favouring his arm after a board collision in the late seconds of the game. He left the ice and didn't return to the game in the last seconds of the game. Hopefully it was just a stinger and not a broken bone, because we've prepared more than our quota of BC Faeries food this season.
Next up, the nasty time zone and sadistic NHL schedulers combine to totally fork us over. Thanks, NHL.
Friday's game at noon pacific? That's fuckin stupid.
TwitchAlmost as stooopid as the 9:30AM PST game on Dec. 1st in Motor City. 9:30AM FFS!
jimmi
Getting Boofoolo'd... and going to hockey church in Motor City could extend this fresh road losing streak. Dang!
INJURY UPDATE:
Ronnie is on the menu at BC Faeries. And off the ice. For an undetermined period, but... "could be awhile". No worries, Desharnais will be back soon and cover for Ronnie, right?