The road trip
At Blues (Monday, 5 p.m., Sportsnet Pacific, TSN 1040) Record: 46-22-7—99 points Position: Second in Central Division
Home record: 24-10-2 (fifth overall) Record against the Canucks this season: 0-2
Recently: Coming off a disappointing 4-2 loss to Columbus on Friday, where they lost key forward Alex Steen to a knee injury. Still, they are 6-2-2 in their last 10. At Predators (Tuesday, 5 p.m., Sportsnet Pacific, TSN 1040) Record: 47-22-8—102 points
Position: First in Central Division, second in West Home record: 28-7-2 (second overall)
Record against the Canucks this season: 2-0
Recently: Lost to the Flames on Sunday, possibly a letdown after clinching a playoff spot with a win in Washington the night before. Still, were 4-0 before that. Both scoring winger James Neal and star defenceman Shea Weber are out with injuries that are said to be shortterm. At Blackhawks (Thursday, 5:30 p.m., Sportsnet Pacific, TSN 1040) Record: 45-24-6—96 points Playoff position: First wild card in West Home record: 22-10-5 (eighth overall)
Record against the Canucks this season: 0-2
Recently: The Hawks seem to be coping with the huge loss of star winger Patrick Kane to a broken collarbone on Feb. 24, going 8-4-1 since then. Still, they’ve lost three of their last five, including losses to Philly and Columbus, but they managed to beat Winnipeg 4-3 on Sunday. Key defenceman Niklas Hjalmarsson is day to day with a hand injury. At Jets (Saturday, noon, Sportsnet Pacific, TSN 1040) Record: 39-25-12—90 points Playoff position: Second wild card in West, one point up on the Flames Home record: 21-12-5 (14th overall) Record against the Canucks this season: 0-2
Recently: Winnipeg lost a big game at home to Chicago Sunday. The Jets have been decimated with injuries this season, but are starting to get some of their key guys back, most recently top-six forward Mathieu Perreault. That, and a laudable display of urgency, had them on a 6-1 run heading into Sunday’s game with the Hawks. Goaltender Ondrej Pavelec has been in goal for all of the Jets’ wins in the run and is red-hot.
After the four-game trip, Vancouver closes out the regular season with three home games: April 6 against L.A., April 9 versus Arizona and Edmonton on April 11.