Oilers Play Spoilers and Canucks Clinch From Couch

Canucks Nation was abuzz all day Tuesday after a huge Canucks come from behind shootout win over the reeling LA Kings.  The win put the Canucks firmly in control of their own destiny and, even though they picked up a loser point, put the Kings in a spot of trouble.

However, the season wasn't over yet and the Canucks hadn't officially clinched, after all.  They could clinch with another win on Thursday versus the lowly Arizona Coyotes.  Or, with a little help from the out-of-town scoreboard, they could clinch beforehand.  There were multiple scenarios that would put them in.  The least likely was the Spoilers, err.. Oilers beating the Kings in regulation.

Canucks followers, myself included, basically ignored that possibility.  The Los Angeles Kings had only lost in regulation ONCE in the last 27 games against the Oilers.  The Oilers are having a terrible season even by their standards.  The Kings thumped the Oilers 8-2 in their last meeting. You could basically chalk up 2 points

The Lowdown on the Canucks Playoff Implications (updated)

The Canucks appear to be in good shape to get into the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year after missing last year.  With 5 games to go in the regular season, the Canucks hold down 2nd place in the Pacific Division and sit 4 points up on 3rd place Calgary and 7 points clear of the 4th place Los Angeles Kings.
The Canucks currently hold the 1st tie-breaker (ROWs) on both of those teams.


The remaining schedule for Vancouver looks like this:

@Nashville (WIN 5-4 in shootout)
@Chicago
@Winnipeg
Los Angeles
Arizona
Edmonton

Compared to Calgary and LA, the Canucks have the toughest remaining schedule