Canucks: Reaching a tipping point in the season

The Western Conference playoff race is getting tigher, and this next stretch of 10 games for the Vancouver Canucks will be the tipping point of their season.

The playoff race in the Western Conference is changing seemingly every time you refresh the page, and while the Vancouver Canucks are in the thick of things, they are slowly slipping down every week.

This next stretch of 10 games for the team will be critical in determining whether they make it to the playoffs, or if they completely fall off.

In the next 18 days, the Canucks will play 10 games, including two series of back-to-backs. Seven of those 10 teams are in the playoff hunt, and five of those clubs seven are in the Western Conference. It’s not an easy stretch, but Vancouver needs to make up the ground they lost from their unimpressive performance in February.

There are five teams fighting for the two Western wild card spots with just three points of separation. The Canucks are the only team in that group with a losing record in their last 10 games (3-6-1). All the teams around them are heating up at the right time while Vancouver is cooling off.

There are plenty of excuses and reasons for why the Canucks are struggling, the biggest one being Jacob Markstrom‘s injury. However, every competitive team has its own injury problems and, they’re doing everything they can to fight through them. Good teams can overcome obstacles and Vancouver needs to understand that. If the Carolina Hurricanes can win with an emergency goalie in net, the Canucks can win with Thatcher Demko.

Unless the Canucks can regain their top form and get things going the right way over these next 10 games, they can kiss their playoff hopes goodbye. There are too many quality teams fighting for the two wild-card spots, and there won’t be any room for Vancouver to sneak in.