The Canucks sit in the 2nd wild card position in the NHL’s Western Conference with three teams legitimately giving chase. That would be the Calgary Flames, the St. Louis Blues and the Utah Hockey Club.
Utah has the most work to do and sits four points back of Vancouver with the same number of games played (66). A win for the Canucks head-to-head on Sunday night at Rogers Arena, particularly in regulation, would go a long way in burying UHC.
It would also guarantee that Vancouver, currently with 73 points, stays ahead of Calgary and St. Louis, presently each with 71. The Flames will have two games in hand after this evening, but have a challenge in Toronto on Monday against the Maple Leafs.
Speaking of burying, the Blues can do that on Sunday night to the visiting Anaheim Ducks, a club sort of hovering around the outside of the bubble with 65 points.
At the end of the evening, Vancouver will still have a game in hand on St. Louis.
The Canucks took care of business on Saturday night against the discombobulated Chicago Blackhawks 6-2 at Rogers Arena. That followed a 4-3 shoot-out win over the Flames in Calgary on Wednesday night in the final regular season meeting between the Pacific Division rivals.
UHC has beaten Vancouver both times they’ve met, both times in Salt Lake City, with one of those wins coming in overtime.
If Utah wins on Sunday night, then the entire aforementioned scenario gets tossed out the window. That’s why for now it’s simply called an opportunity, one Vancouver would love to cash in on.
