Losers of three straight, the Vancouver Canucks took their talents to South Alberta to try and right the ship and correct their playoff fortunes. Owning the cruel distinction that comes with losing three consecutive matches 5-2 at home, it seemed reasonable that one might expect the Canucks to at least buck one of the two trends.

#Canucks are the first team in NHL history to lose 4 straight games by the exact 5-2 score — Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) February 20, 2016

No dice. The Canucks launched everything they had at Calgary early and it was only enough to build a 2-1 lead, courtesy goals from Adam Cracknell and Jake Virtanen. The Flames took control from the second forward, with a three-goal effort in the second and the all-important insurance marker midway through the third.

Stats

Vancouver Canucks zone entry data at 5-on-5 pic.twitter.com/9Lk4PMWibE — J.D. Burke (@JDylanBurke) February 20, 2016

Calgary Flames zone entry data at 5-on-5 pic.twitter.com/vqKMOaVruh — J.D. Burke (@JDylanBurke) February 20, 2016

Quick Hits

Well, technically the Vancouver Canucks are still in the playoff chase. They’ve a 4.4% chance of making the playoffs according to www.SportsClubStats.com. Wonder how low that number drops should the Canucks lose to the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday. Is it possible that the Canucks are eliminated from playoff contention as early as Monday? Doubtful, but it might be the best possible scenario for a franchise with so many decisions hinged on their ability to make the show.

#Canucks have 7 regulation wins in past 35 games — Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) February 20, 2016

The Canucks were able to keep Micheal Ferland in check, which is great, if for no other reason than nobody whose first name is spelled that way should have a sniff at any level of success period. I mean, on the one hand, Ferland had a gaudy ten successful entries and eight of them were controlled; on the other, Ferland was the Flames second worst possession player with a 31% Corsi For.

As the offence has come to the front for Sven Baertschi, his neutral zone impact has dropped. It’s been a bizarre storyline to follow. Not tonight, though. Baertschi had seven successful entries and six of them were of the controlled variety. Baertschi also had a number of offensive chances, including a rush play which saw Jonas Hiller sprawled out and saved by the outside of his post.

Was taken back this afternoon when I found out that Linden Vey wouldn’t be in the lineup. By all accounts at the time, Vey was a healthy scratch. Was later revealed by Willie Desjardins that this wasn’t the case. Here’s to hoping it isn’t long term. Vey was really starting to turn a corner.

Reasons to let it burn:

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Huge difference in lottery odds for finishing 3rd vs 7th. 34% vs 21% for top 3. 86% vs 21% for top 5. #teamtank pic.twitter.com/09UdpcBUDV — Sir Earl (@Sir_Earl) February 20, 2016





