from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,

It says something that as bad as the Vancouver Canucks were with the puck on Monday, the team has played worse during their erratic start to the National Hockey League season. But no game was more disappointing than their 6-2 implosion against the Montreal Canadiens.

The Canucks surged into Montreal after four-straight wins, and on Saturday played their best game of the year, dominating the Winnipeg Jets in a 4-1 victory in a place that had been like Death Valley (with snow) to them.

And only nine days removed from their atrocious three-game series at home against the Canadiens, who pumped in 17 goals mostly by letting Vancouver hurt itself with turnovers, the Canucks knew acutely how important it was on Monday to take care of the puck in Montreal.

The Canucks would show off their rediscovered selves: the direct, smart team that plays to its strengths and makes it difficult on opponents.

And then they gift-wrapped a pile of goals for the Canadiens, whose only difficulty was keeping track of their scoring. Make it 23 goals in four games, and a fifth game looming Tuesday like a root-canal appointment for the Canucks.

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