Where Do the Canucks Stand? Is Sixth Fair?

Don’t you just feel another long, playoff matchup with the Red Shirts? (Photo “courtesy” of CBC.ca)

The Vancouver Canucks. 48 games playes. 29 wins, 15 losses, and 4 overtimes thingys. 62 points, good enough for “second” in the Western Conference. But, is that good enough?

The Red Wings, another team that has played 48 games, sits three points ahead with 65, have won six straight and are 8-1-1 in their last 10. They’re on fire. Some might say, the only good thing in Detroit. (Most would say that.)

Okay, so, the Canucks are only second to one team, and we still have a solid 44 games to go. Not bad, eh?

Well, it gets hairy.

Take a look just below them at the Pacific Division-leading (Christ, again?) San Jose Sharks…

26 wins, 14 losses, and five overtime whatcha-ma-call-thems. 57 points.

Okay, so the Canucks are five points clear, except the Sharks have played three less games, meaning that a 3-0 run would put the Canucks in third.

Dive a little lower, and you’ll find the St. Louis Blues in 4th and the Chicago Blackhawks in 5th, with the Nashville Predaotrs in 6th (Central Division, eh?).

The Blues have played 47 games and are actually two points ahead of the Canucks, which puts them second in the Western Conference and an ability to jump ahead of Vancouver by four points (so, one back of Detroit) with just one, measly win.


The Blackhawks, meanwhile, are also two points ahead of the Canucks with 64 points, but have played 49 games (if you aren’t counting, that’s one more than Vancouver).

So, now the onus shifts to the Canucks to win that one, measly game and tie Chicago (in points, of course).

And, how about the Nashville Predators, which is hockey’s version of Will & Grace in that it just won’t go away even if the show’s been dead for years. The “Preds” (as their “faithful” fans refer to them) are two points back of the Canucks with 48 games played (that’s even with Vancouver).

Now, the All-Star break is almost upon us, and the Canucks schedule gets lighter and lighter so that other teams can even out the “Games Played” column in the Standings. Conceivably, an ill-timed loss to another team like Columbus, Calgary, or Carolina (all three of which have happened this season) could drop the Canucks to a realistic sixth in the Western Conference… in points, of course. The Northwest Division has been wrapped for a while now.

You say winning isn’t everything? It really is the only thing.