Lose Bo - lose a game - Lose Baer - same again

Finally the the bobbly heads of HNIC get what they didn’t get last Saturday. A win for a Canadian team east of the Rockies. And we fans of the only important NHL team west of the Rockies got see how important it is to to have all your top players healthy. Just in case we forgot.

It was a close game considering we’re one top player away from last year’s AHL & Vets roster. We could be in for a grinchy Xmas game season. Might have started a little early for my holiday season tastes.

1st Period

The plucky Nuckies started pretty good on the road. Preserved the tie until it was time to put the game away - in the first two minutes.

MDZ put a shot on the Virt’s skate. Virt took it as a sign. A scoring sign.

And that’s how the game ended. Two and half minutes of pro road hockey should be enough for anyone. Works for me.

Just not enough for HNIC & paying cattledome customers.

While Nilsson was playing great, MDZ having felt his work was done, bobbled the puck in the O-zone after the Nucks won the faceoff. Lazar scooped the puck and zipped down the ice on a 2-on-1, made a quick pass to Brouwer who fired a low shot that beat Nilsson.

Period ends in a 1-1 tie.

2nd Period

Fine. We’ll start all over again. Play like it’s 2016.

Wait. 2016? No. That didn’t turn out so great. Moving on...

Let’s skip the boring back ‘n forth where Nilsson held the fort until our Brockstar got the PWG. It’s like a GWG, but more prestigious. Period.

Brock wins the period (and the game - abridged edition) on the power play!

No really. No more tallies in the period. Game is over. Canucks have the lead at the end of the period. Period.

Nucks win the game (by ²⁄₃ majority rule). Again. And lost another player from the first line. Again. Baer took a puck in the face early in the second period and did not return. We’re hoping, unlike feet, there’s no breakable bones in the face.

3rd Period

Nucks one goal leads in the 3rd on the road are more fragile than our Saturday night sobriety section of the NM gamethread drinking game.

But before we get to the losing-the-lead part of this recap - if we get there at all, let’s take some of the edge off it with a snipe from the past.

Ah...the good old days when Dank owned the fLames. Those were the days.

And now we’re in these days - and we’re loving it! Just not the last two games.

Worse - while Cowtown was pushing back and the Nucks were laying back trying to absorb the push, the Nucks 1st round passover, Keith’s son, the SpearChucker got the tieing goal - and an EN. But, that’s only because our Juvilently awesome D man pick isn’t on the Nucks yet. Patience. Count to 2015. Then scream.

A tie? Ok, we always get a point when tied in the third. When we had Double D, Sutter, Bo & Baer. Without... not so much.

Playing fire drill defence isn’t the best defence and 16 year old Sam ‘Benjamin Button’ Bennett walked out of the corner with a stick tap of encouragement from Gags and fooled Nilsson with a backhand through traffic.

A freakin’ minute and change to go and the Nucks are down 3-2. Pull the goalie - get the equaliser. Stop laughing! It’s possible. Theoretically.

Gaunce and Megna Chaput played well and scored all the Nucks goals. One of those statements is pretty believable. Virt played possibly his best game this season with them and he actually did score. That line kept Calg’s best line off the scorecard. Defensive moral victory. That’s something we can expect more of versus those showy scoring victories.

The Canucks were outshot 10-5 in the final period - the home team pushback wasn’t a fake pushback, Dammit. Nucks were outshot 35 - 24 and lost. Last game they outshot Philly. And lost. That shows versatility in the face of defeat if nothing else.

For those who count such things, this was only the Nucks 12th reg loss of the season. And just the 2nd in row. They do have the opposition coming up to supply a red ink scorecard streak before Xmas though.

How’d the new guy play? Pretty good considering Nic just started the gig yesterday, with no practice and Green was juggling lines like a frantic street performer on Granville for half the game.

Travis played his road poker face well vs the media - feel he will need to keep it in game shape over the next few weeks.

The next few weeks. If we had our complete roster from early November this next stretch of games would be tough.

But now...could be Tough Times Really Tough Squared = Fancy math is not our friend.

The Injury Faeries have taken their fill - they’re full, right? If Gaunce can channel his inner Crosby/Toews/Bo and break the egg in Winterpeg and go on a dozen goal streak to Xmas there’s a chance we will see a 500 team into the new year. Maybe wait until later to call your bookie.

What’s next? A late afternoon game on Monday in the Peg. That is always a fun to place to play and lose in. Just ask most of the teams in the league. Will Goldy be back? Will Chaput stay? Will Baer be back? Will Westy keep betting against his own?

These questions and more lay in wait for us. Enjoy the rest of this scrappy crappy weekend. See you on Monday for Game 3 of the No-Bo show.