The Vancouver Canucks needed help from the other side of Canada, but they didn't get it.
The Montreal Canadiens lost 6-1 to the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night, which allowed the latter to move five points clear in the second wildcard spot in the Western Conference.
Although they have two games in hand, the Canucks are no longer in control of their own playoff destiny. If both teams win every game remaining on their respective schedules, the Blues will make it and the Canucks will not.
Arguably the hottest team in hockey since the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Blues have now ripped off seven straight wins and have a league-best 8-1-1 record in their last 10 games.
The Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche are also 8-1-1 in their last 10 games, but the Canucks are no threat as far as those clubs are concerned.
The timing of it all is a shame, as the Canucks just pulled off a massive upset over the New Jersey Devils, thanks in large part to goalie Thatcher Demko and his heroic overtime save on forward Paul Cotter.
The Devils had been struggling themselves, but very few people expected the Canucks to pull off a win with Demko being healthy enough to play out of the blue and Elias Pettersson, Nils Hoglander, and Filip Chytil all out of the lineup due to injury.
At the end of the day, the Canucks still have 11 games remaining on their regular season schedule, and, theoretically, a 100-point season is still possible with a flawless record the rest of the way. It is highly unlikely, but Monday night's result against New Jersey proves you truly can never say never.
The Blues received contributions from six different goal-scorers against the Canadiens on Tuesday night. Dylan Holloway, Robert Thomas, Alexandre Texier, Philip Broberg, and Zack Bolduc helped the Blues scored five answers to erase a 1-1 tie and power St. Louis to a 6-1 victory over the Habs.
That, folks, is what an infusion of young talent can do for you.