Hopefully, Swedish satellite providers don’t feature west coast NHL games on their version of Centre Ice, because if Mats Sundin saw the performance of his soon to be new team mates on Tuesday night, he just very well may decide to stay off the blades for the rest of the year too.
The Canucks who played a hard fought match on Monday with Anaheim, hardly had any fight at all for San Jose, abandoning goaltender Cory Schneider to the circling sharks, Schneider no doubt thinking of a return to Manitoba as perhaps early parole from what his front five perpetrated on him on Tuesday.
Schneider gave up five goals before Alan Vigneault did the only humane thing he could and pulled him from the game, banished off to that corner of the shark tank where the visiting spare goaltender goes, arena design such as it is San Jose there just isn’t enough room for all on the visitor’s bench.
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It’s probably just as well, after watching Canuck after Canuck let shark players skate into the Vancouver end and fire off shots, Schneider probably didn’t want to talk with this team mates anyways.
While his team mates seemed to take the night off, Schneider himself, must admit that he did not have a particularly great game either, the five Shark goals were scored on but fifteen shots, 1 goal for every three shots, which isn't going to put you in Vezina territory anytime soon.
It was not one of the Canucks more industrious efforts, a lethargic effort suggesting that they may have had a head start on all the Christmas food of the season, they skated as though they had too much shortbread to carry and had all the enthusiasm of a team that had polished off a dozen turkeys.
There was nothing more of a positive nature to focus on for Vancouver, other than the stemming of the Shark feeding frenzy by Curtis Sanford, who shut down San Jose virtually on his own, stopping all sixteen Shark shots that were fired his way, his play was but the lone bright spot for Vancouver.
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That and the fact that the clock was in working order at the Shark Tank and after sixty minutes all could go home.
Back in Sweden, Mats Sundin will share Christmas with his family and then make the long trip to Vancouver to make his return to the NHL, hopefully all tapes of Tuesday’s game will mysteriously disappear, nothing to see here Mats, nothing to see..
Vancouver Sun-- A very silent night as Canucks lose 5-0 to Sharks
Vancouver Province-- Nightmare before Christmas for Canucks
Globe and Mail-- Sharks pummel Canucks
San Jose Mercury News-- Sharks blitz Vancouver 5-0
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