PHILADELPHIA - The only fireworks at the extraordinary morning practice for the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday was the winter lightning storm that raged, brief and unexpected, outside the arena as grim-faced players trudged on to the ice in St. Paul, Minn.
Canuck coach Willie Desjardins, who looked like he hadn’t slept after his team’s humiliating 6-2 loss Tuesday to the Minnesota Wild, changed what was supposed to be an optional afternoon workout in Philadelphia to a mandatory early practice in St. Paul. Typically, something is seriously wrong when a National Hockey League team fully practises at 9:15 the morning after a game.