from Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province,

The Vancouver Canucks finally got a day off on Tuesday after a marathon opening month to their National Hockey League season.

They’re in a tough spot, both on and off the ice.

Tough questions abound. Here are a handful:

What do their playoff hopes look like?
This is the most real part of the story: The Canucks have played the most games in the league at 16. The Edmonton Oilers are the next closest at 14 games played, while a number of other teams have played 13 games.

The reality is that the horse race the Canucks face is much more challenging that that of their rivals. With 40 games left, they have just 12 points.

According to HockeyViz.com’s current projections, 62 points will get you fourth place in the NHL’s all-Canadian Scotia North Division.

In other words, the Canucks need 50 points, or the equivalent of 25 wins, in their remaining 40 games.

That’s a .625 winning percentage. For reference, the 2019-20 Canucks posted a .565 winning percentage; the 2019-20 Pittsburgh Penguins posted a .623 winning percentage on the season.

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