Earlier this week, it appeared that an eruption warning was about to be issued from the West Coast, as rumblings out of Vancouver suggested that head coach John Tortorella was about to show some of his legendary temper for the first time in Canuckland.
Until this week, the journey to the western outposts of the NHL had been a fairly sedate spell of time for the head coach, with none of those You Tube worthy moments of battle between coach and media and for the most part the discussions between coach and players have remained inside the dressing room.
Some of that goodwill towards all had started to fray by Wednesday however, as Tortorella's team continued to suffer a rather prolonged streak of trouble, which in the very competitive Western Division is not something a coach would want to see take root.
The results of the last few weeks testimony to the struggles of the Canucks, who after a most rewarding of road trips of last month, suddenly couldn't win a game whether at home or on the road.
The low point coming on Tuesday evening, when they lost to the Florida Panthers. A shoot out loss, with the salt in the raw wound being the presence of that old nemesis Tim Thomas in the Panther nets.
That result, seems to have provided the sharp jolt of the magma that many observers have anticipated since the new coach arrived in town. The reviews of the last few weeks, providing a bit of a primer on the Canucks' woes of late.
Torts' line contortions smack of desperation
Torts' Canucks chemistry experiment rooted in 'let's see what sticks'
Goalie controversy? Luongo is the least of Vancouver's worries
Torts blends up his top nine
Booth has to help himself: coach
Time for Canucks to call "Slump Busters"
Canucks suffer 'worst game of year' in shootout loss to Panthers
Stalked by Panthers: Canucks not quite good enough again
Canucks hold team meeting to 'regain focus' ahead of Friday night meeting with Columbus
Canucks' Tortorella frustrated after 5th straight loss
John Tortorella rips Canucks for losing to Panthers
Those eruption alerts were at Defcon Five by the time the Columbus Blue Jackets came to town on Friday night, an evening where the visitors would feel the full result of Tortorella's recent musings to his squad.
Canucks pour in the goals in 6-2 thumping of Columbus Blue Jackets
Daniel Sedin ends scoreless drought in Canucks' 6-2 route over Blue Jackets
Twins gang up on Blue Jackets
And while the measurements indicate that the temblors from Mount Tortorella have subsided for the moment, it won't take much for another burst to come forward.
The test for his squad comes pretty fast, while stomping down on a short handed Blue Jackets team may have provided for a bit of relief from the recent losing trend, Saturday offers a much more intense challenge.
The defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Black Hawks are at Rogers Arena tonight, ready once again to renew acquaintances with their long time rivals, a team for which there's no shortage of animosity that stretches back for a number of years now.
It's a key November match up, coming as it does with the Canucks still trying to find their way out of their struggles, should they find the winning form against the Stanley Cup champs, the seismic needles in BC will return to a more stationary position.
Should they lose.. well, keep your eyes focused on the USGS and Canadian Earthquake Centre, another mega rumble may be a coming...
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