Before we get into the Sharks' collective morale heading into Game 3 and the perception that Roberto Luongo plays poorly in the Shark Tank, let's remind ourselves that the voracious man-eating tendency of sharks is largely mythical, just like Luongo's fear of playing in San Jose. The shark myth began with Jaws back in 1975, which cast the great white shark as an evil beast hell-bent on consuming human flesh. And ever since then, sharks have become the most feared animal on the planet. But the reality is that sharks are responsible for an average of 2 to 3 non-fatal attacks per year in the US. In fact, more people are killed by dogs each year than have been killed by sharks in the past 100 years.

As for Luongo, his overall numbers against San Jose aren't jaw-dropping, but they're respectable considering they've come against a perennial Western Conference powerhouse such as San Jose. His lifetime Save Percentage in San Jose is .920 and his GAA is 2.77. The only problem is that Luongo hasn't won at the HP Pavilion since 1997, and although Vancouver won twice in the Shark Tank this year, Cory Schneider played in both games. So the myth is that Luongo can't win in the Shark Tank.

But Luongo's winless streak in San Jose has more to do Vancouver's futility against a team that used to be too big, too strong, and too fast for the Canucks. Over the past couple years, though, the circumstances have changed. Vancouver now has the size to handle San Jose's bigger forwards and the speed to counter-attack. If Luongo happens to look shaky and lose tonight, though, you can bet the myth will grow, especially in Luongo's imagination. And this is precisely how myth turns into reality.

The other story worth noting is that after the Game 2 blowout, San Jose is now on the ropes, and the opening period will tell us a lot about San Jose's collective mental state (and, quite possibly, Luongo's mental state). If, for the sake of argument, Vancouver heads into the dressing room after 1 with the lead, you've got to wonder whether the Sharks will have the moxy to fight back with more maturity and purpose than they showed in Game 2 when Ben Eager ran amok. On the other hand, if Luongo lets in a couple early goals, you've got to wonder how he will respond. It should be interesting.

Finally, moving beyond the Canucks' history in the Shark Tank, the most positive development in the first two games has been the play of Henrik and Daniel Sedin, who are clearly finding more room to operate than they did against the stifling defense of the Predators. The Canucks' team speed and defensive involvement at the offensive end is also getting the better of the Sharks. So far, there's been little answer. And so far as I can tell, the only answer would be for San Jose to slow the game down and hope for more power plays. Given the fact that San Jose has only had three power plays in the first two games but has capitalized on all three, special teams will once again be a key storyline, especially as San Jose's players and coaches lobby in the media for greater parity in the penalty balance.