The 2024-25 Vancouver Canucks season could officially unofficially come to a close with a regulation loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night.
As it stands, the Canucks are a staggering eight points back of the Minnesota Wild for the second and final wildcard playoff spot in the Western Conference with one game still in hand.
According to wildly popular hockey analytics site MoneyPuck, the Canucks' playoff odds will increase from 0.2% to 0.4% with a regulation win over the Stars. If the Canucks win in the shootout or in overtime, their playoff odds will remain at 0.2%.
And aside from the nominal, nonzero chances of reaching the postseason, the Canucks will indeed be mathematically eliminated from qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs if they leave Dallas without at least one point on Tuesday night.
Piggybacking on this, MoneyPuck also gives the Canucks a 36.1% chance of defeating the Stars, who will be led by former Canucks goalie Casey DeSmith on Tuesday night.
The challenge only gets harder for Vancouver when accounting for injuries, as center Elias Pettersson (upper-body), center Filip Chytil (concussion), and defenceman Tyler Myers (undisclosed) are all out for Tuesday night's game against the stars.
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The Canucks have lost four of their last five games with Pius Suter, Teddy Blueger, Aatu Raty, and Nils Aman comprising the team's depth at the center position. Aman, too, is injured, leaving undrafted rookie Max Sasson to man the Canucks' fourth line against Dallas.