Hopefully it was the perfect storm || January, 16, 2012

Well that was a disaster.  Coming off a pretty successful road trip, starting with the huge win over Boston, then back to back in the sunshine state, then another big win over the surprising St. Louis Blues, the team that showed up against Anaheim was a shadow of it's former self.  For true Canuck fans, you probably aren't worried, you could just write it off as one of those things that usually happen in sports, where the first game back after a long road trip is usually a stinker.  However, the Canucks are starting to set a very disheartening trend.  They seem to show up against the top teams in the league - like Detroit, Chicago, Boston, San Jose - but when it comes to the basement dwellers, they suck.

Think back a month, when Vancouver played Columbus, or when they played Carolina without Jeff Skinner.  Those are teams they should be beating, and Vancouver has gotten the reputation around these parts, of not showing up against teams that should be an easy win.  Some people say that there are no easy wins in the NHL, especially now with the salary cap kind of leveling the teams off a bit, but when you're an elite team like the Canucks...it's a different story.

There are easy wins in the NHL, maybe not physically easy, but talent wise you can't say that Columbus is even close to the talent level of the Vancouver Canucks.  Now, Anaheim, they are a different story.  Granted, they have been playing better lately under the new head coach, but so far this season they are a terrible team.  I don't know how they have been so bad, considering they have one of the scariest first lines in the NHL.  Ryan-Getzlaf-Perry could be one of the biggest and skilled lines in the league, but this year has not been treating them well.  Especially since Ryan Getzlaf has pretty well just coasted through every game this season, but they are a very talented team.

So, the question is, did the Canucks lose the game?  Or did the Ducks just beat them?  Well, considering Vancouver only had a handful of shots in the first half of the game, it's a safe bet that they just didn't really give a shit.  They're probably tired, the star players (Kesler, Sedins) could be a little frustrated about not producing like they're used to, but I think that it was just one of those things.  Look for Vancouver to turn it up a notch against the Kings this Tuesday.  If they lay another steamy pile of a game against L.A., then you can start to question the ethic of a team this talented.  Right now though, I don't think there is anything to worry about.