We at Pucked in the Head encourage you to play the Mötley Crüe’s Girls Girls Girls at full volume during this post. We would have recorded a hockey version, but Harrison Mooney was busy mixing his Christmas album.

Vancouver was awash in red lights Saturday as the Giants and Canucks collectively exploded for a dozen goals in a single night. These are teams that have moved in opposite directions in the standings of late. The Canucks had lost five straight, scoring just six goals in that span. The Giants, on the other hand, had picked up points in six consecutive games. (In fact, since a disastrous 1-9 start to the season, the Giants have gone 10–4–3.) Their 6–3 win over the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds, coming on the strength of a four-goal second period, was their fourth home win in a row, and brought them to a .500 record for the first time in recent memory.

Jared Rathjen earned his third win of the season, stopping 24 of 27 shots; at the other end, Danny Mumaugh allowed five goals on 31 shots and was chased after forty minutes. Trace Elson scored his first career WHL goal, and completed the Gordie Howe hat trick with a first period fight and an assist in the third.

More after the break. 

Elson joined the Giants five games ago after nearly a year and a half playing Junior A hockey for the Whitecourt Wolverines. According to hockeydb.com, he previously played five WHL games for the Red Deer Rebels, but did not find the back of the net.

 

Recent legal problems for two of the best G-Men haven’t hampered performance on the ice. Despite being charged charged in connection with an August dust-up at a Surrey house party, Jackson Houck and Brett Kulak have been among the team’s top scorers all season. Kulak, drafted by the Calgary Flames two seasons ago, is tied for fourth in the WHL for scoring by defenceman — with 10 goals and 17 assists, he’s averaging a point a game. Houck, picked by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2013 NHL Draft, had a goal and two assists Saturday to bring his season total to 21 points.

According to reports, the pair are charged with assault causing bodily harm, with Kulak facing a second charge of uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm. Both have made three appearances in court thus far; Kulak was scheduled to appear for the fourth time on November 20, with Houck following suit on February 28, 2014.

The Giants load up the bus for a trio of road games against the Prince George Cougars and division-leading Kelowna Rockets next week. Their next home game is December 4 versus the Central Division’s Kootenay Ice. The Giants sit in third place in the Western Conference’s BC Division, six points behind the Victoria Royals.

Down the road at Rogers Arena, Henrik Sedin scored twice in a convincing 6–2 win over the Blue Jackets. Brother Daniel potted his first in six games, leaving him at 299 goals in his career. On the other end of the spectrum, fourth liner Jeremy Welsh tipped home his first NHL goal late in the game. The Canucks as a whole outshot CBJ 36–16, and carried the play pretty much every shift of the game.

In other news, Alex Burrows has come so close, so often that his stick has developed blue balls. Number 14 has yet to score this season, and recently unearthed documents show Nostradamus predicted Alex Burrows would never score another NHL goal again.

With the win, Vancouver is a point out of the final playoff spot. While their ninth place station seems ugly, it should be noted that the Nucks are four games over .500. The Western Conference is currently an insane race — all eight of the teams ahead of Vancouver have more points than the Boston Bruins, the number one team in the East. At this rate, the playoff bar for the West will be an unprecedented 114 points. One hundred and freaking fourteen! Even with the Bettman loser point in place, that’s absolute madness.

Good news? The Canucks penalty kill, replete with Angry Fonz Shot Blocking Power (TM), is tops in the NHL. Bad news? The power play is still an embarrassment. After 24 games, the PP is successful just 10.7% of the time. Only Florida’s man advantage bears less fruit — there’s a joke in there that I’m too lazy to craft, but it probably involves a coke-snorting congressman, a batshit crazy goaltender, and the word nutzo.