Posted February 03, 2018 07:58:30 With only two games left in the season, the Vancouver Canucks are on the brink of the playoffs for the first time in 20 years.
The Canucks currently sit in sixth place in the Pacific Division, three points behind the Calgary Flames and three points ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
As the playoffs approach, the Canucks will have to win their final two games of the season to avoid a second consecutive season without a playoff berth.
As of this writing, there is no sign of a playoff bubble forming in the NHL, with teams like the Detroit Red Wings, Arizona Coyotes and Minnesota Wild all sitting in the middle of the pack.
The best bet for the Vancouver team is to finish in the bottom three in the Western Conference, and finish with a record of 22-17-5.
The Canucks have been outscored in their past two games by a combined average of 2.9 goals per game.
They have the second worst power play in the league (2.05 goals per 60 minutes).
The Canucks also have the third worst penalty kill (39.1%).
The Canucks have scored at least two goals in nine of their past 10 games.
This past week the Canucks won a pair of games against the St. Louis Blues and Calgary Flames, both wins in front of an announced crowd of 35,000.
Vancouver has not had a home game since March 11.
A look at the best and worst games from the Vancouver series:The Canucks were the first team in NHL history to lose two consecutive home games in a season.
The Canucks also lost their third game in a row on the road, a 6-2 loss at the Anaheim Ducks on February 4.
Vancouver went on to lose the next two games, a 3-1 loss at Chicago on February 8 and a 5-2 win at Edmonton on February 11.
They lost the third game of their five-game road trip to the San Jose Sharks on February 12.
The Vancouver Canucks were eliminated from playoff contention in the first round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The next two teams in the series are the New York Islanders and Chicago Blackhawks.
The Islanders are currently in second place in their division with a 23-10-4 record, and have scored the most goals (28) and points (70) in the playoffs.
The Blackhawks have a 12-14-1 record and have outscaled their opponents in five of their six playoff games.
Vancouver won the first game of the series in Game 2 on January 20, 2017, when the Isles won 4-3.
For more information on the Vancouver franchise, check out the NHL schedule, schedules, standings, stats and more.
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