from David Pollak of the Mercury News,

The Sharks looked more out of sync than anytime this season Thursday night in falling to the Vancouver Canucks in a game that didn't seem as close as its 4-2 score.

And coach Todd McLellan had no shortage of places to point his finger in explaining why his team's nine-game winning streak over Vancouver did not reach double digits.

Work ethic?

"When you're in the real world you work for eight hours, and when you're in the hockey world you work for 60 minutes," McLellan said. "We didn't even come close to that."

Forwards, the ones McLellan shuffled for two periods, looking for the right line combinations?

"You're trying to spark guys, you're trying to find combinations, you're trying to send messages," McLellan said. "But, when you have a busload that didn't show up to play, it's pretty hard."

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