Canucks now control their own playoff destiny with 6 games left

Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports

With the Vancouver Canucks standing at centre ice, celebrating their sixth win in a row after a dominating 6-2 win over the Dallas Stars on Monday night, Jim Carrey made an appearance on the big screen.

“So you’re telling me there’s a chance,” sounded through the speakers at Rogers Arena.

“So you’re telling me there’s a chance” #Canucks pic.twitter.com/gp1nUvqu5V

— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) April 19, 2022

Good on Canucks game presentation for having a sense of humour about it, because, with few exceptions, nobody gave this team a chance to be in this position four months ago.

Heck, two weeks ago, most people didn’t think this was possible.

The Canucks still have work to do to accomplish their goal of making the postseason, but unlike that scene from Dumb and Dumber, their odds aren’t one in a million.

Not anymore.

MoneyPuck.com now lists the Canucks’ playoff chances at 11.6%, while Dom Luszczyszyn’s model at The Athletic has Vancouver at 14%.

In the wake of their victory on Monday and Vegas’ stunning loss, the #Canucks’ playoff odds doubled and sit at 14% going into Tuesday’s game against the Senators, per @domluszczyszyn. https://t.co/yoykoxiiDF pic.twitter.com/R0P61xl9Qm

— Thomas Drance (@ThomasDrance) April 19, 2022

Those odds still make the Canucks a long shot to make the playoffs, but their postseason probability will change with every win going forward.

In fact, after last night’s results — a Canucks regulation win combined with a Vegas regulation loss — have put Vancouver’s playoff destiny back in their own hands.

If the Canucks win all of their remaining six games, provided they don’t rely too much on overtime and shootout wins, it won’t matter what other teams do around them — they’ll be in the playoffs.

That’s because while the Canucks trail the Vegas by one point and Los Angeles by four points, they have a game in hand on each of them. Vancouver also has a game coming up against the Kings on their schedule and should win the tiebreaker (regulation wins) if need be.

nhl standings april 19

Of course, it’s still possible the Canucks could catch Nashville or Dallas — with Vancouver likely taking the tiebreaker against the Stars, but not the Predators.

The Canucks play Ottawa at home tonight, with Jaroslav Halak getting the call in net. It’s a game they desperately need to win to continue to turn up the pressure on the teams around them.

Here’s a look at each of the remaining schedules for the five teams fighting for three playoff spots:

Vancouver Canucks (6 games left)

vs Ottawa (Apr 19)
@ Minnesota (Apr 21)
@ Calgary (Apr 23)
vs Seattle (Apr 26)
vs Los Angeles (Apr 28)
@ Edmonton (Apr 29)

Los Angeles Kings (5 games left)

@ Anaheim (Apr 19)
vs Chicago (Apr 21)
vs Anaheim (Apr 23)
@ Seattle (Apr 27)
@ Vancouver (Apr 28)

Vegas Golden Knights (5 games left)

vs Washington (Apr 20)
vs San Jose (Apr 24)
@ Dallas (Apr 26)
@ Chicago (Apr 27)
@ St. Louis (Apr 29)

Dallas Stars (6 games left)

@ Edmonton (Apr 20)
@ Calgary (Apr 21)
vs Seattle (Apr 23)
vs Vegas (Apr 26)
vs Arizona (Apr 27)
vs Anaheim (Apr 29)

Nashville Predators (6 games left)

vs Calgary (Apr 19)
@ Tampa Bay (Apr 23)
vs Minnesota (Apr 24)
vs Calgary (Apr 26)
@ Colorado (Apr 28)
@ Arizona (Apr 29)

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