Canucks could clinch playoff spot by Monday, end franchise-long drought
Thursday was another game and another win for the Vancouver Canucks.
The Canucks handled the Montreal Canadiens with ease on home ice, pushing Vancouver closer to officially clinching a playoff spot. That’s something they haven’t done since the bubble playoffs in 2020 and would mean the return of Canucks playoff hockey to the city of Vancouver for the first time in nine years.
They could clinch a playoff spot as soon as Monday.
Vancouver is close to clinching a playoff spot (NHL PR)
Thursday’s win pushed Vancouver to 96 points, meaning that the Seattle Kraken can no longer catch them, based on the regulation wins the tiebreaker.
That leaves the St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild, and Calgary Flames as the only teams currently below the playoff bar with a mathematical chance at catching the Canucks. And that can change in a matter of days.
The Blues and Wild play each other on Saturday afternoon, while Vancouver plays the Flames on Saturday and the Los Angeles Kings on Monday.
If the Canucks win both their games, with at least one coming in regulation time, and the Wild beat the Blues in any fashion, Vancouver will clinch a playoff spot.
Whether they clinch Monday or another time, it’ll be a long time coming for long-suffering Canucks fans.
To give you an idea of just how long it’s been since the Canucks last played a playoff game at Rogers Arena, check out their lineup the last time it happened. Only two players (Bo Horvat and Chris Tanev) are still actively playing in the NHL.
The last time the Canucks played a playoff game at Rogers Arena, April 23, 2015.
Nine years without a playoff game in Vancouver is by far the longest drought in franchise history.Ā Prior to this streak, the longest period of time without a playoff game that Canucks fans could attend was just four years. That occurred twice, during the expansion era (1970-1974) and the Messier era (1996-2000).
After clinching a playoff spot, there’ll be other clinching scenarios to monitor — ones that are far from guaranteed.
The Canucks are one point back of the Boston Bruins for first place in the NHL standings, meaning Vancouver is in the running to win its third Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history. Keep an eye out for the Canucks trying to win their conference, which is something they’ve only done only twice before (2010-11 and 2011-12), and clinching the division title, which they last did in 2013.
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