CALGARY, Alberta -- Pre-season prognosticators weren't expecting this kind of success for Western Canadian rivals Calgary and Vancouver.
At about the mid-season point of the NHL schedule, the Flames (21-18-2) and Canucks (20-18-3) somehow find themselves occupying the two wild card spots in the Western Conference.
At least for a day, anyway.
With their 4-2 win over the Flames in Vancouver on Friday night, the Canucks jumped a point past the Los Angeles Kings into eighth spot; a point behind seventh-place Calgary.
The Flames and Canucks wrap up their back-to-back series Saturday in Calgary.