from Iain MaIntyre of Sportsnet,

The way the Vancouver Canucks started the National Hockey League season, it looked like they’d be out of the playoff race by Christmas.

Instead, they survived until the final week of the regular season. Barely and mostly in theory, but they made it.

Drained by the relentless, four-month sprint to catch up in the Western Conference standings, the Canucks lost their third straight game on Saturday, 6-3 to the Calgary Flames. The result, combined with the Dallas Stars’ 3-2 comeback win at home against the Seattle Kraken, left the Canucks six points out of the final wildcard playoff spot with three games to play.

Dallas is the only team in the race with fewer regulation wins than Vancouver, so if the Stars lose their final three games and the Canucks sweep contests against the Kraken, Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver could still get in.

But the Canucks also need to pass the Vegas Golden Knights, who are two points ahead and play the San Jose Sharks on Sunday. If the Knights win, the Canucks will be mathematically eliminated Tuesday when Vegas visits Dallas because someone has to win that game.

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