Canucks' already slim playoff odds crater after loss vs. Blues

Despite heroically rescuing a point thanks to the herculean efforts of winger Brock Boeser, the Vancouver Canucks still lost to the St. Louis Blues, 4-3, in overtime on Thursday night.

It was the game the Canucks should have and needed to have won in regulation, but instead ceded a valuable two points to their closest competitors.

That is, at least, in regards to the handful of teams still competing for a Western Conference wildcard playoff spot ahead of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.

That last spot, for now, belongs to the Blues, who have 77 points with 12 games remaining. The Canucks are close behind with 76 points in 69 games, with the Flames narrowly trailing them with 75 points in 68 games.

When accounting for things like remaining strength of schedule and other underlying metrics, the odds are just not shaking out favorably for the Canucks at this stage in the season.

According to Mike Kelly of Sportlogiq, the Canucks' playoff odds have waned all the way down to 19%, down a whopping 7% from the 26% they had last week.

On March 19, Sportlogiq gave the Canucks a 26% chance of making the playoffs, trailing the Blues (45%) and leading the Flames (25%) and Utah Hockey Club (9%).

Now, with Utah seemingly out of the picture, the Blues lead the way at 45%, the Flames jump up to 32%, and the Canucks slot in at the bottom of the group at 19%.

The Canucks have a number of difficult games upcoming, and they will all be played on the road. Fellow playoff hopefuls like the New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, and Columbus Blue Jackets will all host Vancouver before the Canucks face the Winnipeg Jets in Winnipeg to close out the month of March.

And if the law of averages tells us anything, the Canucks will not be so lucky as to hang five goals against Connor Hellebuyck for a second time this month.

The odds are stacked against them, but crazier things have happened.