from Ian MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun,

Anyone who couldn't believe what they saw Monday from the Vancouver Canucks hasn't been paying attention the last two months.

You may have been horrified, disgusted, disillusioned, sad or angry, but shocked? No, not with these Canucks. Not with the way their disintegration has been accelerating in recent weeks, how a team that was one of the best in the National Hockey League only a couple of years ago has completely dissolved before our eyes – and the eyes of coach John Tortorella and general manager Mike Gillis – this winter.

The collapse on home ice against the New York Islanders is merely the grotesque next step of a team that long ago lost its way and only barrels deeper and more hopelessly into the abyss week by week.

On the day Gillis sent a letter to season-ticket holders re-stating the organization's goal to win the Stanley Cup, the chalice hasn't looked as far away in 15 years as it did Monday night when the Canucks were outscored 7-1 in the third period by a lousy Islander team long ridiculed for its ineptitude.

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Watch the game highlights below and also John Tortorella post-game...