Welcome back to Nucking bounce back hockey. The Nucks taking on the 30th placed little Fawkers in the ROG was a sure thing win. As sure as anything this season. Which isn't that assuring.
It's the penultimate home game of the season - so much to play for. RikRollin'Tok is all in on the win-now moment - for another few games - put his best goalie in net. Who delivered his best performance of the season, in this critical juncture of the season.
It wasn't easy for Demmers to start the game. Not just because he has Myers in front of him, but because even terrible teams can give the Nucks fits.
While the Nucks get the 1st goal in the 1st - and spoiler alert: the GWG from Kuz, his 38th, it wasn't because the Nucks over powered the visitors, but because...
So from the little I have seen, Chicago sucks and if the Nucks were better it would be 5-0
Westy
Also... if the Nucks were better, they wouldn't be getting their golf shots perfected as part of Tocco's rigorous off season training regime.
The hawks are pretty bad at hockey... and the canucks are pretty equal to the task.
Twitchy
It's 1-0 after 1 and the game is over. The ROG is celebrating like it's game 1 of the SCF. No, that's not the simile I'm looking for. The ROG is drunk on the shot clock potion. No, that's not it either. Whatever.
In the 2nd, guess what, the Nucks score the 2nd goal of the game - on the PP! Without giving up a goal! Not making it up! It's Kravy (Vitali Kravtsov) with his 1st Nucking goal! Will it be his last? We don't know.
Game thread are following the action - and the clock.
This game so far has been played in only 1hr 25mins.
82wino
Fascinating...
With about 3 and half minutes of good hockey...
Twitchy
Anyhow, despite this game being over, possibly before it started - the Fawks having used all their scarce hockey mojo beating Cowtown last Tuesday - the 3rd period dragged on, with Chowcargo out shooting the Nucks.
Possibly because he was held pointless, Huggie took over the enforcer role late in the 3rd and spent 4 minutes in the box, practicing tough guy grunts and stuff. If only he had remembered to bring the chewin' tabbaca into the bin.
With Stalledlock pulled, Bess setup snooker aficionado, JT, for the bank shot into the EN. The 3rd GWG of the game!
Always feels good to beat the Hawkers, even if it hurts our Bedardian dreams of SCF glory.
Oh... and BTW, Demmers got his 1st shutout of the season! The 1st Nucking shutout in 134 games!
Last time the Nucks shut out an opponent was early on in Bruce's lauded Bruce Bump era.
Another record the Nucks have led the league in since 2021. Piling on the records this season.
SEMI-FINAL CHEECHERY
2nd to last Nucking home game for the 2 Johns. It's maybe not as sad as the Twins retiring without winning a Cup, but it's close.
GAME STATS (impressive battle of the bottom)
| SOG | FO% | PP | PIM | HITS | BLKS | GVA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Blackhawks
CHI
|
33 | 55% | 0/3 | 8 | 35 | 8 | 3 |
Canucks
VAN
|
29 | 46% | 1/3 | 8 | 42 | 12 | 7 |
SHOT COUNTING (outshot by who?)
| Period | CHI | VAN |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 11 | 8 |
| 2nd | 8 | 12 |
| 3rd | 14 | 9 |
| Total | 33 | 29 |
PLAYER STATS
Forwards
| # | Forwards | GP | G | A | P | P | +/- | S | PIM | PIM | SOG | HITS | BLKS | GVA | TKA | FO% | TOI | PP TOI | SH TOI | PP | GW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | B. Boeser | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15:19 | 3:10 | --:-- | 0 | ||||
| 8 | C. Garland | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13:43 | 2:42 | --:-- | 0 | |||
| 9 | J.T. Miller | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 59 | 17:41 | 3:24 | 3:15 | 0 | |||
| 15 | S. Dries | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 63 | 12:41 | 2:20 | 0:58 | 0 | |||
| 18 | J. Studnicka | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10:26 | --:-- | 0:43 | 0 | |||
| 34 | P. Di Giuseppe | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13:32 | --:-- | 1:04 | 0 | ||||
| 40 | E. Pettersson | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 20:52 | 3:18 | 3:06 | 0 | |||
| 72 | A. Beauvillier | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17:47 | 2:26 | --:-- | 0 | ||||
| 81 | D. Joshua | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12:25 | --:-- | 1:46 | 0 | ||||
| 88 | N. Aman | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 33 | 14:38 | 0:01 | 1:08 | 0 | |||
| 91 | V. Kravtsov | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10:54 | 1:36 | --:-- | 1 | ||||
| 96 | A. Kuzmenko | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18:56 | 3:29 | --:-- | 0 |
Defense - so many new guys - and none of them a minus!
| # | Defense | GP | G | A | P | P | +/- | S | PIM | PIM | SOG | HITS | BLKS | GVA | TKA | FO% | TOI | PP TOI | SH TOI | PP | GW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | A. Hirose | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20:30 | 2:13 | 2:20 | 0 | ||||
| 43 | Q. Hughes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 23:47 | 3:37 | 1:56 | 0 | ||||
| 44 | K. Burroughs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18:32 | --:-- | 2:38 | 0 | ||||
| 48 | C. McWard | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14:35 | --:-- | 0:11 | 0 | ||||
| 57 | T. Myers | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 20:43 | 0:39 | 3:23 | 0 | ||||
| 74 | E. Bear | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16:59 | --:-- | 1:32 | 0 |
DEMMERS GETS A 1.00!
| # | Goalies | GP | REC | GA | SV | SA | S | EV | PP | SH | SAVE-SHOTS | SV% | PIM | TOI | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | T. Demko | -- | 33 | 33 | 25–25 | 8–8 | 0–0 | 33–33 | 1.000 | 0 | 60:00 |
ROGGING OVER AND OUT
The Shutout King of the ROG, just doing his job.
InterTocco feeling good (ambivalent?) about beating the 3rd worst team in the league.
It was a perfect game. PP Scores. PK doesn't give up goal. And neither did the PP. Demmers gets the SO. Why doesn't it feel better?
Oh... ooooh... I know this one. Because we've seen this game so many times before - in exactly the same time of the season - in garbage time, when there's nothing on the line but Tee-times.
Oh well... next season will be different. It will, right?
Let's find out.
