The Vancouver Canucks have started every game three of these playoffs much the same way a sloth begins his day at the top of a tall tree, relaxed and not moving very much.
In both Chicago and Nashville they managed to recover from these appalling starts by getting some great goaltending and then scoring on their chances when the team got their legs going and generated some.
Not this time. No to the goaltending early at least and no to the scoring on their chances until leaving it just a little too late. Not against a team that has more firepower than the Predators have ever had in their franchise history, the San Jose Sharks clearly a lot better team than the previous two opponents. This time the Canucks not only lost the game, they lost perhaps their most consistent defenceman all season in Christian Ehrhoff in a shoulder to shoulder hit by Jamie McGinn in the bargain, this team not reacting well to whatever the coaching staff is telling them before their first road appearance in any series. Aaron Rome went down later too of course, but that happened once Vancouver woke up.