Canucks 10, Sharks 1: A real and complete thumping of an atrocious crew

Article content material

OK, let’s get this out of the best way:

Article content material

The San Jose Sharks are atrocious.

Article content material

They’re going to complete this 12 months as one of many all-time unhealthy NHL squads.

They haven’t any offence to talk of. The Canucks’ 10-1 annihilation of them on Thursday evening on the SAP Middle in San Jose was inside three minutes of turning into the third time in 4 video games the Sharks have been shutout.

They’ve scored simply 10 targets in 10 video games on the season.

It’s no shock they’ve but to win.

And it wasn’t a shock that the Vancouver Canucks raced out to an early lead on Thursday evening, both.

The visiting crew gave their hosts a real and complete thumping, the likes of which have been hardly ever seen in crew historical past.

The Canucks have a giant month forward of itself. They’re very, very busy, taking part in 15 video games in November.

Article content material

So getting a win like this, in a sport they needed to win, is important. There are going to be some bumps within the street forward in opposition to actual NHL groups.

While you’re taking part in glorified AHL squads, you have to take these wins.

“I can not recall a sport, in my 26 years of calling Canucks hockey, a sport like this,” Sportsnet’s John Shorthouse mentioned, flatly, after Anthony Beauvillier scored his second purpose of the third interval, the Canucks’ tenth purpose of the sport.

The essential merchandise was the Canucks racing out to a 4-0 begin, displaying no mercy in opposition to a hapless foe.

Even with their foot off the fuel, they scored twice within the ultimate body.

Keep in mind ‘The Spot’

Brock Boeser’s first purpose, a one-timer off the left wing on the facility play, was a throwback tally.

Article content material

Article content material

From almost the day he confirmed up in Vancouver in 2017, the case has been made for Boeser to be wiring pictures from The Spot, because it was as soon as dubbed. Alex Edler, who is without doubt one of the best defencemen in crew historical past, was the comedian villain in these days.

Clearly the present Canucks have many choices to play on the left flank, mainly J.T. Miller, however with Boeser clearly again to his outdated goal-scoring self, possibly we’ll see him there extra typically.

Heck, he was engaged on one-timers from the Spot within the morning skate.

Article content material

Boeser received a second purpose when he batted the puck out of mid air, one thing he’s made a behavior of doing over his profession.

Article content material

Magical Hughes

O Captain, my Captain.

The Quinn Hughes vengeance tour takes no prisoners.

Hughes had a purpose and 4 assists, tying the membership document for factors by a defenceman in a sport.

Article content material

Double-digits

The final time the Canucks hit double-digits targets in a sport was March 1, 1992, once they thrashed the Flames 11-0.

Simply so occurred it was your writer’s eleventh celebration and, sure, that group of Grade 5 boys was delighted.

Do Grade 5s nonetheless watch Canucks video games? In the event that they do, maybe there’s a comparable group of equally-thrilled 10-year-olds.

Lafferty turns the nook

Sam Lafferty has displayed a singular expertise since becoming a member of the Canucks: He’s actually good at turning the nook on defencemen and getting the puck into a powerful spot.

He’s a useful scoring menace from the Canucks’ depth traces consequently.

“I’ve been actually engaged on that,” Lafferty advised Postmedia on Wednesday about his penchant for getting round defencemen.

Article content material

Even earlier than he landed in Vancouver, it had been identified to Lafferty that his mixture of skating quickness and his stature — he’s powerfully constructed and fairly tall — was an intriguing mixture, one which he might use to realize a foothold on a defenceman.

“It’s about moving into the defenceman’s fingers,” he defined.

He’s used it very successfully to this point this season. His purpose, the sport’s seventh, noticed him dart behind the online, nevertheless it got here off exterior velocity and a flailing defender.

No problem

As a lot as Rick Tocchet could have needed a shutout for his goalie, there’s no approach you possibly can problem an opposition purpose whenever you’ve already scored 10.

It seemed like Thatcher Demko, who had little or no work on the evening till the very finish, was interfered with as he moved to cease the lone Sharks’ purpose — in some way Fabian Zetterlund’s third of the 12 months — however the Canucks’ teaching workers shook off any notion of asking the referees to overview the play.

Article content material

The Petey profit

Elias Pettersson didn’t practise Wednesday.

He barely skated Thursday morning throughout the morning skate.

If he’s coping with a small harm, one thing Tocchet implied on Wednesday, this was the form of sport that was excellent for load administration.

And that was very a lot the case for Pettersson, who performed simply 14:32 on the evening.

He nonetheless managed to choose up three factors. And he made an excellent pickup of an aerial cross from Andrei Kuzmenko, forward of Ilya Mikheyev’s purpose early within the second interval, Vancouver’s fifth of the evening.

Article content material

Pettersson now has 19 factors on the season, one again of Jack Hughes. He’s on tempo for 156 factors, essentially the most since Mario Lemieux’s 161 in 1995-96.

J.T. Miller, who scored once more on this sport, now has 16 factors, good for fourth in scoring.

In some way, in a sport like this …

The humorous factor in regards to the Canucks’ offensive luck to this point this season is it hasn’t discovered their function gamers a lot.

Nonetheless, it was massive for Beauvillier to lastly rating. Pius Suter managed his first as a Canuck as properly.

Article content material

The celebrities gained’t proceed to attain at this torrid tempo and once they dip, the Canucks will want one thing from their function gamers.

The Sharks are Actual Unhealthy

There’s no depth there. They’ll’t rating.

It’s no marvel so few followers are displaying up.

Attendance was already down 20 per cent at SAP Middle final 12 months.

It appears even worse this 12 months.

The Sharks claimed 10,719 was the paid attendance, however even early within the first, earlier than all of it appeared over, have been there half that many?

The decline began earlier than the pandemic, however the pandemic had a big impact. Followers have been gradual to return due to nervousness about publicity to COVID-19 in public areas, however these fears have eased.

Now it’s nearly not wanting to observe unhealthy hockey.

And given what’s on show, who can blame them?

Article content material

Possibly Sharks fan Neil Younger can write a tragic music about them.

Simply how unhealthy are they?

There’s some competitors within the race for worst all-time NHL crew season. Within the enlargement period, the 1974-75 Washington Capitals have been actually atrocious.

They gained simply eight video games that 12 months. The 1980-81 Winnipeg Jets gained simply 9, however at the very least they might rating.

These Caps scored simply 2.26 targets per sport. The factor was, they gave up 5.58 targets per sport.

That’s a depressing existence.

Article content material

The Sharks most likely gained’t be as unhealthy as these Capitals, however they’re at actual danger of being as unhealthy offensively.

Even worse, the Sharks are within the midst of one of many worst begins to a season in NHL historical past. Now, one among their video games was an additional time loss, so their document is difficult to equate with groups of outdated, nevertheless it’s nonetheless notable that the worst-ever begin to a season was the war-reduced 1943-44 New York Rangers, who misplaced their first 11 video games of the season. 

The 2015-16 Columbus Blue Jackets had the worst begin of the fashionable period, outright dropping the primary eight video games of the season.

No spirit

After Andrei Kuzmenko scored his purpose within the second interval, he ran into Sharks goalie Kaapo Kahkonen, who seemed unsettled by the hit.

Quite than rejoice his purpose, the Canucks’ sixth of the sport, Kuzmenko went to test on the Sharks goalie.

Article content material

No Sharks appeared to test on him, although.

Is {that a} crew that’s already lifeless inside?

After the sport, Sharks star, their solely star, Tomáš Hertl referred to as it essentially the most embarassing sport of his profession.

Article content material

That is no approach to deal with a child

Twitter is generally a hellscape now, however there did appear to be a motion on the social media web site now often called X to get the child one thing as compensation for such an terrible first expertise:

Article content material

[email protected]

twitter.com/risingaction

Bookmark our web site and help our journalism: Don’t miss the information it’s essential to know — add VancouverSun.com and TheProvince.com to your bookmarks and join our newsletters right here.

You can even help our journalism by turning into a digital subscriber: For simply $14 a month, you will get limitless, ad-lite entry to The Vancouver Solar, The Province, Nationwide Put up and 13 different Canadian information websites. Help us by subscribing at the moment: The Vancouver Solar | The Province.

Article content material