Regardless, Edmonton has almost no chance of saving their season so it’s fairly safe to cheer them on since they have a great opportunity to play ‘spoiler’ in the Canucks’ favor. They’ve done a piss-poor job of it so far, mind you—a 5-0 loss to Minnesota the other day; the 4-2 loss to Calgary last night—but redemption is possible. They’ve got three games left to play against the Minnesota Wild and another one against Calgary. Maybe they can pull something out with a couple of those.

Whatever happens, the best tactic for the Canucks is obviously to keep winning themselves, especially against these same divisional contenders for a top playoff spot, and tonight’s tilt against Minnesota affords them that chance.

Back in January, Terry Frei and others were starting to recognize that the Wild were coming on. I largely agreed with Frei’s column at the time:

“Frei seems uncertain about his Minnesota conclusions (“I’ll take the safest route and plug them right in the middle of the division.”) and I can see why. The Wild really are an unpredictable team, running with strange streaks all season. But ultimately, I’ve got to agree with Frei because Marian Gaborik is back, and he and Pavol Demitra (not to mention Brian Rolston) should probably steer them to the playoffs—at least until Gaborik trips on some stairs and snaps a groin muscle, or some such idiocy.”

Vancouver can only do themselves a favor by finding a way to beat this team tonight. Keys to the game? As J.J. pointed out on his blog, it all hinges on stopping Gaborik, Demitra and Rolston.

Last but not least, this reminds me of a text message on my cell that I got from Jes Golbez a couple weeks ago. I’ve been saving it for a rainy day.

12:28pm February 17th
“Morrison, Bourdon and a draft pick for Pavol and Gabo. Wouldn’t that be rad? If Nonis isn’t making this offer, he’s not doing his fu@king job.”

Heh. :)