Thursday night, the Vancouver Canucks were officially eliminated from playoff contention.
Unofficially, fans and management both ceased talking about the playoffs a while ago. Since then, the focus has shifted to how close to the bottom they could finish. Could they, in fact, fall to 29th and secure the second-best lottery odds after the Colorado Avalanche?
The Detroit Red Wings and Dallas Stars are both only two points ahead of the Canucks. There is a chance that either could lose enough down the stretch to pass Vancouver in the lottery race. However, the Wings have a game in hand against Vancouver, and the Stars have been playing better lately.