Keeping foot on the gas a good idea
TWO GAMES LEFT: Canucks face Calgary or L.A. in playoffs but will want momentum, home-ice advantage
In the end it may not be necessary, but the Canucks would be wise to keep their foot on the gas pedal for their final two regular-season games.
Quietly celebrating their return to the NHL playoffs after a year’s absence — thanks to a spectacular stumble by the defending Stanley Cup champion Kings on Tuesday in Edmonton — the Canucks could require as little as one point on Thursday against the visiting Coyotes to clinch the No. 2 spot in the Pacific Division and home-ice advantage in their opening playoff round against either Calgary or Los Angeles.
That would depend on a Kings regulation win over the Flames and the one point from the game with Arizona, putting the Canucks up by three points over the other two with just one game left all around.
The other good news about Tuesday’s outcome is the Kings can’t catch the Canucks — they lose via the tiebreaker — so it’s going to be No. 2 or No. 3 in the Pacific for Vancouver. That’s why a regulation loss to the Coyotes puts the Canucks in a world of uncertainty. It opens a scenario whereby the Flames could pass them and claim home-ice in the opening round. A tie in points could go to the Flames. Currently, they both have 40 regulation and overtime wins (ROWs, the first tiebreaker), while the Flames have more points in the season series (5-4, the second tiebreaker).
Adding in loser-points and the math gets complicated, but the Canucks can keep it simple. They need three points over the two games to lock up the No. 2 spot — regardless of what anyone else does — and they don’t want to be in a position where the final two have to come against the Oilers on Saturday.
“It was nice to see (the Kings) lose last night and us getting in,” said Canucks winger Alex Burrows following practice on Wednesday. “We had a group text going. When the Oilers found a way to win we were saying we’ve made our first goal and we’re pretty happy about that, but there’s still a lot of work ahead.”
The immediate job at hand is not taking the Coyotes Thursday or the Oilers Saturday lightly.
“There’s two big games left and we need to get them to get home ice,” Burrows added. “That’s going to be a huge factor going in, the fan support. If it comes down to Game 7, playing on home ice goes a long way.”
Rookie Bo Horvat wasn’t scoreboard watching — his mobile phone did it for him.
“I was shocked when the notification came up on my phone that (the Kings) lost and we’d clinched,” said Horvat. “I couldn’t believe it. I was pretty happy about it. My first NHL season and I get to be in the playoffs. It’s going to be exciting.
“These last two games are important, just from a confidence and momentum standpoint. Going into the playoffs with a winning mentality is going to benefit us, for sure.”
The playoffs begin on Wednesday, but the schedule won’t be released until the regular season is complete on Saturday.
The Coyotes are heavily into the Connor McDavid sweepstakes, with the NHL’s second-worst points total (56), two points ahead of last overall Buffalo (54). They lost 3-2 to the Flames on Tuesday, but have been better of late, going 3-4 over their last seven games.
They have also given the Canucks some problems this season, though Vancouver has a 2-1-1 record against them. Arizona beat Vancouver 5-0 in November, before the bottom fell out of their season, but also handed the Canucks a 3-2 shootout loss on March 5.
Goaltender Mike Smith has also been better while going through a tough season. He made 41 saves in a 3-1 loss to the Canucks on March 22.
“You definitely can’t take them lightly,” said Canucks defenceman Chris Tanev. “We know we’re in. You play like it’s playoffs and work on things we need to improve on.
We should be focused. Everyone’s got to zero in and be where we need to be.”