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GAME RECAP #44: NUCKS WIN! Huggie Goal! Crushed 5-1 in the ROG!

January 16, 2025
- jimmi

BAD GAME - WORSE PP. NUCKS TRAGICOMEDY ACT 2.

Could the Nucks continue their odyssey to consistency in the ROG?

Yes. And no.

Duplicated their disinterested, disconnected play early and went down 3-zip on 4 shots. In the 1st half of the 1st period.

However, couldn't even manage their play to deliver another 6-1 loss. Disappointing.

Want to know how that happened? Me neither.

1ST

Nucks don't give up the 1st goal in the 1st in the 1st few minutes. Oh wait! They did give up the 1st goal in the 1st minute on the 1st LA shot. Ronnie turns over the puck at LA blueline - LA goes up ice 2-on-1 because no backcheck and Nucks forwards are tired.

Just when we might have hoped the Nucks would pushback, the cruel refs put Vancouver on the PP. No, they didn't give up a shortie, but didn't generate much. Or get the elusive PP goal.

What about some payback on Jeannot? Desh performed the requisite staged fight - that did nothing to spark the team.

Worse, more disconnected casual Nucks play in the D-zone and LA score again.

And a mere 40 seconds later, Nucks up ice, Pete fumbles the puck at LA blueline, gets a 2nd chance, but the puck goes the other way, real fast and much faster than any Nucks 'backchecker' - Demmers makes the 1st stop, not the 2nd one off the juicy rebound.

Wow, just started watching in a sports bar, and 3 zip already???

Atty

Good news! Taco finally called a timeout. A little late... but still. He settled down the team and Nucks didn't allow another goal in the period. Progress.

Gamethread wondered what he said...

"You guys look like a bunch of entitled overpaid twats! Someone give me a beer."

Twitch

Nucks down 3-0 after 1. Sound familiar?

2ND

Like last game, the game is over in the 2nd period. Nucks know it. ROG knows it. So does Taco.

Tocchet's face tells it all.
He looks disgusted and beaten.

Atty

The period grinds on and on - the probabilities of getting Kemper a shutout seem to be increasing.

And the Nucks get another PP. Uh-oh...

Fortunately, Brock takes a weak penalty. Nucks off the PP. 4-on-4 time. Huggie time.

Nucks can't play as a team where Myers was freelancing and failing, Huggie needs to show how it's done. And scores! Wooo!

Yay we scored. Start the parade.

Twitch

The ROG is ready to cue the comeback. Just need our one player team to score another 3.

But, a far too short minute later, the miffling returns. Demonstrating the lack of on-ice communication, JT doesn't realize Nucks are now on the PK. No teammate tells him. The crowd tells him, but he doesn't listen to the noise. Dumps the puck to the corner looking for another scoring chance. The scoring chance happens going the other way on the eleventeenth LA 2-on-1.

Stop the parade.

Twitch

4-1 LA as 2nd ends with the Nucks still down 3 goals. That's a type of consistency, right?

3RD

The Nucks come into the 3rd looking even more disconnected and more defeated. But have to wait another 15 minutes to properly savour the defeat amidst the ROG boos.

Of course, Nucks and Demko have to suffer one more humiliation.

LA puts the puck behind Demmer's net. Both Myers and Forbort are behind the net. Demmers is looking over his left shoulder for the puck. But the puck isn't behind the net. It's on the side of the net. On Demko's right. Floogol sees it and stuffs it past a startled Demmers.

And just for funsies, since the game is out of reach with near 10 minutes to go, best to let Huggie get some rest, right?

Nope. First, Soup is thrown out of the game after a brooha. Then Myers is injured and goes down the hall. Quinn has to play the rest of the way. Played nearly 30 minutes. Ugh.

And to finish up, Sherwood puts the puck over the glass in the last couple minutes and LA gets the chance to score and make it another 6-1 blowout. But they didn't, despite my sick need for the consistency narrative development.

It's only a 5-1 blowout on home ice. That's not so bad. Other than being the worst game the Nucks have played all month. And they've played some stinkers.

Looks like the bar I'm at switched off all games, and started a Karaoke night. So I can't see the 3rd period.
Couldn't happen to a better game..

Atty


OBSERVATIONS

At Game #44 the Nucks have so many problems there isn't the time and space left to list them all. Let's just go with the highlights:

Last season this team was connected on the ice making clean 10 foot passes and playing for each other. At this mid-point, the Nucks have reverted to the late Green or Bruce era. Just a bunch of induhviduals playing for themselves. And not even pulling that off.

Our top two forwards are barely middle-six.

Pete has 10 goals on the season. Great. On pace to score 20 all for the bargain price of $11.6M. He either needs to up his game, take a huge pay cut or something trade something. He gets paid to be an elite talent, to be a game changer. To score goals at will. And can't or won't.

Miller has 8 goals in 44 games. That's around $1M per goal so far. Maybe we'll see the cost drop to $500k - if he stays. Whatever his issues are, they're now the Nucks issues as well. Last season he was a 37 goal/103 point monster power forward strutting a +/- of +32. At this point he's a -6.

Production from Brock and DeBrusk has dropped off a cliff. And despite getting more minutes, Gnarland's production has dropped as well, 2 points in last 5 games.

Myers was a +16 last season. Now a -5. Soucy was a +10 and now a -12. It's the regression season for many.

Taco won the Coach of the Year last season. This season... if he wasn't the 4th coach of this core, he'd be available for playoff games - on ESPN.

JR/PA aren't looking like roster geniuses this season either. Their D-additions have been more like subtractions. In the summer many thought this season's roster was stronger than last. Turns out it's much weaker... Because BC Faeries carried more Nucks players away at the start than they took all last season. And we may never get our elite Demmers back.

Not saying the Nucks are cursed to have a single good season once every 5 or 10 years... but JR/PA have not built the year-after-year contender they were confident they had.

It's just one game and Bluesky posters are noting the suckiness of this low point of the season.

Well, it took me a while to try making sense and digest this performance. - Hughes: TOI 29:26 🤯 - 1st period was abysmal - 2nd period another abysmal - 3rd period #Canucks gave up - LA had ~5-7 high danger chances - PP: 0/5 Where do we go from here? #Canucks #GoCanucksGo #NHL

[image or embed]

— Canucks Watcher (@canuckswatcher.bsky.social) January 16, 2025 at 10:19 PM

This team has no bonafide veteran leadership and the room is a mess. Management failed by entering this season with the roster they put together lacking that leadership and character. Tocchett’s powerplay is a serious problem that has persisted far too long #canucks

— Señor Tina (@senortina.bsky.social) January 16, 2025 at 10:31 PM

100% guarantee I won’t be watching the #Canucks game vs Edmonton on Saturday or anytime soon. All this drama and piss-poor effort makes the @nhlcanucks.bsky.social look like the Real Housewives of Vancouver. I want a hockey team not a bunch of drama queens.

— lesnielbc.bsky.social (@lesnielbc.bsky.social) January 16, 2025 at 9:44 PM



Anything else? Yes!

Got nothing. Just like the Nucks.


Video Replay

Shortie 'n Dave back in the ROG - having to coach the team and Taco during stoppages in play. Doesn't help.


GAME STATS

PLAYER POINTS

SHOTS

PERIODVANLAK
1st76
2nd98
3rd57
TOTAL2121

PLAYERS 'N TACO TALK

PDG says they're all sick of losing. Losing sickness is a tough disease to overcome.

Capt'n Huggie has to talk to the media. About too many things.

Taco can't say 'egregious' enough these days. We know the feeling. Too well.


It's over. The humiliation at home is over.

Until Saturday on HNIC when the chicken-wing king and his Oil cluckers will spill their grease all over the ROG.

True Nucks fans will watch this game. Because feeling miserable about the Nucks is our jam. That builds character. Sometimes we wonder if we could have those 'character building' seasons a little less frequently.

On the bright side, we're more than half way to enjoying the months of May and June away from the screen and screaming and enjoy other activities. Like the draft and FA season. And another retooling/rebuild. Yay.

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