Really? This is the hockey were supposed to pay cash for?

[Joe Rockhead]

This hitless, no fighting , skate with your hear down, obstruction,defensive, left wing lock, trapping, instigator, media sissy, shit is what I'm supposed to give a flying F- about?

F- this! Keep it Lansberg!Pratt, Tayolr!

Why the F dont you pussies concentrate on International Female Ice Hockey and leave the f-ing NHL alone !

This shit blows!

[Arachnid]

This hitless, no fighting , skate with your hear down, obstruction,defensive, left wing lock, trapping, instigator, media sissy, shit is what I'm supposed to give a flying F- about?

F- this! Keep it Lansberg!Pratt, Tayolr!

Why the F dont you pussies concentrate on International Female Ice Hockey and leave the f-ing NHL alone !

This shit blows!

Well I wasn't going to say it quite so eloquently but yeah, I feel sorry for those that paid big bucks to go tot he game last night. Real shameful that most of the Canucks took the night off. The stars were not out. It was black all over. I know it was an overall shit team effort but Alberts and Bisucka should be lynched at City Hall today. I never paid for the tickets for their recent trip to the ACC and they played mediocre at best and barely escaped with a win against the leaves. I was thinking there is something not quite right about this team that was projected as a Stanley Cup contender, there is something broken. It continued in Buffalo and Pittsburg and then at home on Saturday night against a hated rival. But it is early and perhaps like the Minny game this one will wake them from their slumber...still can't help feeling bad, like I was used or taken for granted last night....

[ClamRussel]

Can I get a refund for those 2.5hrs of my life back?

[Island Nucklehead]

That's the first time this season I've turned off a Canucks game. They've had some stinkers already, but if you can't get up for a game against a team that's literally bent you over two seasons in a row... that's messed up.

Farhanesque question... should we face the Hawks again this post-season, how long is Luongo's leash? Do we seriously consider playing Cory Schneider if Luongo can't seem to put a good game in against these guys?

Hopefully they show something against the Coyotes tonight.

[LotusBlossom]

I have seasons tickets, how do you think I felt last night?

That is all.

Again, like I said on the GDT, I am so glad there was good wine last night up at the Best Buy Club or else I would have been far less lenient. I was contemplating leaving early from the arena for the first time since the Canucks started playing there. That was the worst effort and game I've ever seen from the Canucks in recent years. I'd take 1998 Canucks over that team last night, at least the talentless 1998 squad tried.

[Robert]

What do Pratt and Taylor have to do with what we saw??

[Farhan Lalji]

In mid 2009 - I brought up the subject that perhaps the Canucks were "mentally fragile"....and that there were some SERIOUS red flags amongst our core...but it was met with ridicule and sarcasm. I made these comments after the Canucks were beaten by the Hawks in the post-season. Anyway - I don't mean to "toot my own horn" here, but I do think its time to re-visit some of those dicussions.....and question as to whether this core has what it takes to lead this team when it matters most.

Just for the record:

1) I have little doubt that the Canucks will get back to their dominant and winning ways very shortly (whether it starts tonight, or a few nights from now).

2) I have little doubt that the Canucks will finish somewhere between 17 to 30 games over .500 once this season ends.

3) I have MAJOR doubts about the intensity and integrity of this team when it matters most down the stretch. The Sedin twins are tremendous hockey players, and they are proven PPG players even in the post-season, but they have NOT displayed that "it" factor when it matters most.....be it in the playoffs or Olympic hockey. For whatever reason, they do not have that "presence"....and they disappear when they are not scoring. In many regards, they are like the way Naslund was. Unfortunately, I'm also beginning to think that Kesler, Burrows, etc. are the same (for those that think I constantly "toot my own" on here, I openly admit that I thought Kesler and Burrows were "big game" warriors...and perhaps I was wrong).

Farhan's verdict: I'm glad last night happened. Chicago is most certainly NOT a team in decline, and they are still dangerous as fuck. Meanwhile, the Canucks still have a lot of holes...many of which are mental. The pundits might be right about the fact that the Canucks are the most talented team on paper, but that's all it is. The Canucks (and their fans) are kidding themselves if they think they are going to "waltz in" to the 3rd round and beyond. Teams like Chicago, San and Detroit, are still very dangerous. While teams like LA are on the rise.

[woodhog]

That was the worst effort and game I've ever seen from the Canucks in recent years.

I'll agree, except I'd take out the part "in recent years". I've been a fan since year one and I don't recall a worse effort in forty years. I've never seen them totaly give up after half a game like they did last night. They've had some pretty shitty teams in the past but they almost always brought their hard hats and lunch buckets.

I know it's still early in the season but that display last night really changes the way that I view this team. They better come out with guns blazing tonight. I hope last night was just an anomaly and it doesn't happen again.

The scary part about it is that the Hawks are definately in the Canucks heads. Like Rockhead so subtly insinuated, why didn't they at least throw the body around and start a few scraps to send the message that they won't give up? Instead, they folded like a cheap tent. Like they didn't give a crap. Like they didn't care about the fans that payed big dollars to witness that disgusting display.

Like I said, it better be different tonight ... and going forward.

[nucklehead_88]

You know, its funny. Normally i'm all "its one game you guys dont freak out, yadda yadda yadda" but the combination of everything that was that game last night just felt diffrent. i duno.......im royally pissed and i want to see some heads roll pretty soon

[ClamRussel]

Not that there's a better choice waiting at the door right now...but has Vigneault lost the team? They sure played like it. That was so pathetic I don't know where to start...AV definitely doesn't have them playing a very sound game these days.

[LotusBlossom]

I am still pissed off about the Canucks game last night, I sold one set of tickets tonight and Lil Blossom graciously took my usual BBClub ticket so she can see Taylor Pyatt and eat some wicked awesome sushi tonight. I'm not even in the mood to be in the arena tonight.

I really want a bounce back game but it's eerily evident, like Rockhead mentioned, the Hawks are in the Canucks head.

[Farhan Lalji]

I'll agree, except I'd take out the part "in recent years". I've been a fan since year one and I don't recall a worse effort in forty years.

I'll have to strongly disagree with this quote. I don't want to get too technical, but I can recall some VERY disturbing shit from the Mark Messier days (his 1st season here) and from the 2005-06 season. However - last night's performance was definitely up there.

The Canucks obviously have a huge mental block with Chicago. I also believe that there's a severe lack of mental toughness (atleast one form of it) amongst our top core players....and I've been saying this for a few years now.

I seem to recall one year where (can't remember when....either last year or the year before), people kept saying "Hey Farhan - the Canucks lead the league in coming from behind to win games and are therefore mentally tough....what do you have to say about that?" and I kept saying, "That's great, but that's only one form of mental toughness. There are many factors that encompass overall mental toughness, and these factors include, "Not letting rivals get into your heads, not blowing leads or giving up goals at crucial times, and elevating your level of play when it MATTERS MOST."

I said it in 2009 (when the Canucks signed Sundin), and I'll say it now: The Canucks, on paper, have the necessary talent to win the cup. Their biggest problem however, is that they have some serious mental problems as a collective group. These mental problems are what caused us to completely blow the series against Chicago in 2009 (a series we should have won), and it's also what caused the Canucks to "lose spirit" in last year's series against Chicago after we blew Game 2.

I don't know how the Canucks can address this situation, but they better do it.....otherwise, we're in for another 2nd round disappointment.....at BEST.

[Farhan Lalji]

Not that there's a better choice waiting at the door right now...but has Vigneault lost the team? They sure played like it. That was so pathetic I don't know where to start...AV definitely doesn't have them playing a very sound game these days.

I don't think Vingeault has lost the team. All teams have peaks and slumps throughout the season, and I think that's what we're seeing with the Canucks. I have a feeling that their recent 6 game winning streak gave them a misguided false sense of security.

Having said that, I do think that Chicago is in our heads....and I ALSO think that the Canucks are a team with some serious mental problems amongst our core players (stemming from 2008/09).

-The Sedins' have never elevated their games when it has mattered most (be in the post-season or the Olympics). While it's true that they are PPG players in the playoffs, their points often come in bunches (which over-magnifies things). When they are not scoring, they are very invisible.

-Luongo's mental problems been well documented.

-I never expected Burrows to be a non-factor when it mattered most, but it looks like I was wrong here. I also expected more from Kesler (although his problems aren't as severe as the aforementioned).

-Hamhuis and Ballad have been disappointments so far.

[the toucan kid]

Hey guys, can we save this thread and just place it at the top of the thread list every time the club loses a few in a row?

Lemmings, seriously, lemmings. And it's always the same lame cliches too. You've all been through this a million times, you know how meaningless a November performance is, what is this short-sighted impatience?

I mean if you think the game is BORING, that's one thing. (Hint: do something else with your free time) But the 'mental fragility' or 'coach lost the team' stuff is really laughable from posters who should, and ordinarily do, know better.

[Farhan Lalji]

I mean if you think the game is BORING, that's one thing. (Hint: do something else with your free time) But the 'mental fragility' or 'coach lost the team' stuff is really laughable from posters who should, and ordinarily do, know better.

I agree with you on the laughable comment of, "coach has lost the team" (just for the record, I never said that)........but....I WAS the one who made the "mental fragility" comment and fully stand by it.

-Yes: The Canucks are a talented team.
-Yes: All teams go through peaks and slumps and it will be no different with the Canucks.
-Yes: The Canucks will go on another massive winning streak sooner than later (whether it starts tonight or some other night)
-Yes: The Canucks will most likely finish somewhere between 17-30 games above .500 and will lock one of the top 3 seeds in the Western Conference.

NO......The Canucks are NOT a Championship calibre team. They weren't in 2008 (like I thought at the time), they weren't in 2009, and they aren't this year. Why? Simply put - the Canucks have way too many mental issues...as has been proven time and time again. Giving up late goals, core playing not elevating their games when it matters most, stupid penalties, completel meltdowns on Penalty Killing (like we saw against LA last year), etc. etc.

Unless these issues are confronted somehow, Canucks will still be a 2nd round team....at BEST....and it doesn't even matter if we're play Chicago or not. Other teams will expose these weaknesses...again.