Canucks could be eliminated from playoffs as soon as Saturday

There’s a lot of talk these days when it comes to the Vancouver Canucks about magic, numbers, and well, magic numbers to being eliminated or qualifying for the playoffs.

You might already know some of the most important numbers by heart: five games left in the season, 97 maximum possible points for the Canucks, and one tricky back-to-back on the final two games of the regular season. If the Canucks win four or five games, they’ll have a puncher’s chance at pulling out a playoff berth.

If the Canucks lose three more games the rest of the way in regulation, they’re officially cooked, regardless of what other teams do.

They wouldn’t be able to catch either Los Angeles or Nashville and at best be tied with Dallas if they win two other games.

But that unlikely scenario of course, uh, would also mean Dallas loses their next five games without earning a single point, while Vegas earns no more than one point over their next four games. They’d need a combined 2-10-1 record between Vancouver, Dallas, and Vegas for that specific scenario to happen, in what would be the most chaotic and sad playoff push the NHL’s ever seen.

But what if the Canucks lose two? More specifically, the next two?

The Canucks face off tonight with the team with the third-best record in the Western Conference, the Minnesota Wild, with puck drop set for 5 pm PT.

Elsewhere, the LA Kings take on the Chicago Blackhawks, and the Calgary Flames host the Dallas Stars in games directly impacting Vancouver’s playoff race.

Due to Vancouver’s shootout loss against the Senators on Tuesday, the Canucks no longer control their playoff destiny as the team did earlier in the week.

They’re on the outside looking in, and in danger of being fully out of the race before the weekend is even over.

So let’s play a little Doomsday Simulator™️ and imagine everything goes against the Canucks over the next few days. If five results go the wrong way, well, then it’s lights out of the 2021-22 season.

In the worst-case scenario for Vancouver fans, the Canucks drop tonight’s game and then falter again on Saturday when they take on Calgary, while Dallas beats the Flames tonight and the Seattle Kraken on Saturday, or at least picks up a win and an overtime/shootout loss.

That would give Dallas 94 or 95 points on the season, with a maximum of 93 for the Canucks at that point.

It’s odd for Canucks fans to be cheering for the Flames in one game, then cheering directly against them just two nights later. Sports!

The Kings also play Saturday night, with a matchup against the Anaheim Ducks on the schedule. By Saturday, the Kings could be at as many as 96 points, which is already pushing the envelope for the upper echelon of the Canucks’ capacity over their remaining five games.

Nashville isn’t on for the next two days but takes on Tampa Bay on Saturday before playing against the Wild on Sunday. If they win Saturday, they’d be at 95 points. 95 isn’t out of reach for the Canucks as of right now, but it could be in a little over 48 hours if the Canucks go through a rough stretch and drop their next two.

Nashville also holds the regulation wins tiebreaker over Vancouver, with a 35-31 margin. If the Canucks lose two more games, getting to 93 points is irrelevant when it comes to trying to catch Nashville.

Vegas, meanwhile, is dormant until a Sunday game against San Jose.

Within a matter of hours, the playoff picture will be shaken up once again. Vancouver faces 6.4% odds via MoneyPuck.com to do the near-impossible and qualify for the postseason.

Maybe they shock us all and end up winning their next five games, with enough other factors going in their favour to mount one of the NHL’s most impressive playoff pushes of all time. But if everything over the next few days goes wrong (and sometimes it does!), well, it’s officially game over with six days left in the season

In summary: two Canucks regulation losses, three Dallas points, and two points from LA, and Vancouver is officially eliminated from the 2022 NHL playoff contention before After Hours hits the air after Hockey Night in Canada. 

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