from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,

Losing confidence is one thing, losing faith quite another. Right now, it’s hard to tell which it is with the Vancouver Canucks.

The team is lost.

It’s not about their systems play or turnovers, nor about their special teams or goaltending. It’s no longer even about the underperformance by some of their best players. And it’s not really about their inept defending, either.

This team just looks lost. All the things the Canucks had going for them during last summer’s playoff breakthrough are gone. That team seems to have vaporized – and, surely, not just because the organization allowed three or four guys to leave in free agency.

Thursday’s 7-3 loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs emphatically reinforced how far the Canucks have fallen, how distant they are right now from the top teams in the North Division, how much they’ve lost their way.

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Watch the game highlights below.