It's A 2 Game Nucking Home Win Streak! Mon Dieu!
When Montreal comes to town the ROG can get rocking. Not just because Burrows is behind le habitat bench, but pretty much that's why.
1ST PERIOD
Game thread was impressed with the Nucks PP, 5-on-3 division.
5 on 3
Westy
Futile 5 on 3...
Twitch
Once those glorious moments of inglorious ineffectiveness passed without comment, Habs sprung Gally who busted in on DeSmith, who stopped the bust-up. Biggest save of the game? Maybe.
Doesn't matter, since Nikita ZadOrrov is on the ice for the home team. Laff is screening the goalie and Niki shoots from the blueline and scores! 1-0 Nucks. Special mention to Lindy who picked up an apple on the play. So did Miki.
Is there more Orr?
Nakita Orr!!!
Twitch
Zav is the trailer and breaks in with a wicked fast shot. 2-0 Nucks after 1. Another helper for Miki and one for Laffs. Zav gets the GWG. But we didn't know that yet.
2ND PERIOD
A chessmatch breaks out in the ROG. Not really. More like a game of ref roulette. Nucks 'won' 3 consecutive PKs.
Desmith going full demmers there...holy shit
Twitch
Nucks PK is perfect. Which is good because the Nucks PP certainly was not.
Just when we thought the 2 goal lead was safe, Blueger sent a pass up ice to Gnarland who zips into the zone and zips the puck off the post and in. 3-0 Nucks.
A minute later, after a Miffling clear hits Bess and doesn't leave the zone, the Nucks 2 goal lead is restored as a deflection from a young HabberDeflecter gets past DeSmith.
Foooooook! That's why the 3 goal lead is so vital. Or was.
jimmi
3 goal lead is my fave.
Atty
Almost as good as the 4 goal leads...
Nucks lead 3-1 after 2.
3RD PERIOD
It's the lockdown phase of the Nucks game. It's a novel concept, but a good one.
Nucks limit the Habs to just 3 shots in 20 minutes. Didn't take any penalties doing that. Even better didn't get any power players to ruin the 5-on-5 mojo.
Even better, the 4th line puts up a tally off an O-zone FO. Aman deflects a Myers point shot. Podz gets an assist on the play.
NUCKS WIN 4-1!
OBSERVATIONS
Watched the game recorded, almost the carbon copy of the Buffalo game, but this time with more puck luck for us.
Man, the playoffs are coming like a runaway train, almost here. And the boys are playing exactly like Taco prescribed.
The forecheck tonight was deadly, the Les Habs had no clue how to counter that.
On to the next one with the Flames, it should be an exciting one. Finally we are playing Alberta again.
Atty
Have Thuggie and Niki Orr traded roles? Zav had 5 shots and 2 goals. Thuggie had no points, no shots. But no hits either. So... maybe not.
With the Nucks keeping Le Habs at bay most of the game, the 3rd and 4th lines got more action later in the game. Podz had 6 hits. As did Juuls who was a +1 on the night.
Boeser didn't post any points, but got a cheer from the bench blocking a shot in the 3rd. If Brock is blocking shots late in the game, the team is all in on Taco Tough hockey.
ROG Récapitulatif Vidéo
Shortie and Ray Ferrari covering the play and missing goals while chatting. Ooh la-la!
GAME STATS
SHOTS
HABS | Period | CANUCKS |
5 | 1st | 12 |
9 | 2nd | 6 |
3 | 3rd | 7 |
17 | TOTAL | 25 |
PLAYER POINTS
GOALS | ASSISTS | +/- | |
GNARLAND | 1 | +1 | |
AMAN | 1 | +1 | |
MIKHEYEV | 2 | +2 | |
LAFFERTY | 1 | +2 | |
LINDHOLM | 1 | +1 | |
BLUEGER | 1 | +3 | |
PODKOLZIN | 1 | +2 | |
ZADOROV | 2 | +2 | |
MYERS | 1 | +2 | |
Saves | Shots | SV% | |
DESMITH | 16 | 17 | .941 |
TACO TALK
Nucks limit Habs to only 3 shots in the 3rd.... That's Taco Tough hockey.
"We didn't screw around with the puck in the 3rd... we played more north... we really managed the puck well in the 3rd" - Coach Taco
Hear and watch if you don't mind the Taco angel hair whiskers HERE on NHL.COM
Good tough checking game. Even if Niki Orr didn't get the hattie he was trying for. Contract year requires extra goals.
Nucks are now back on top in the West. Big deal or little deal? Probably big as home ice advantage is an advantage at least for Nucks fans who have been disadvantaged since... 2015. Not a mathspert, but that's nearly a decade without a ROG playoff series.
Saturday, Marky and his remaining teammates are in the ROG. Which means it's HNIC coverage. Which means don't forget your earplugs!