If you’ve got your fingers crossed in hopes that the Canucks will make the playoffs, your scoreboard watching begins two hours before the Canucks host the Oilers tonight at 7:30. Nashville hosts St. Louis while Calgary is in Minnesota to take on the Wild.
A loss by the Predators or a regulation loss by the Flames will give Vancouver control of its postseason destiny once again. Though the Canucks need some help in order to get into the chase for Lord Stanley’s mug, the schedule actually sets up quite nicely for the locals based on how they’ve played teams from Alberta this season.
Vancouver boasts a 4-0-3 record against tonight’s opponents from Edmonton, a team that has nothing more than pride to play for after losing to Calgary on Tuesday. And speaking of the Flames, the Canucks have owned their counterparts from Cowtown for the most part this season, chalking up five wins in the first seven meetings.
Those stats aren’t worth any more than the paper they’re printed on, but fans in this city need something to cling to based on the way things have played out over the past couple of weeks.
• Don’t believe the rumours that suggest Mattias Ohlund will be back on the ice for what could be a crucial encounter with the Flames on Saturday night. Ohlund reiterated yesterday that his knee is not in good enough shape to dress this weekend, but confirmed that he will be good to go in the playoffs if the Canucks are able to squeak in.
• Lions’ fans will always wonder how many more Grey Cups would be in the local trophy case had Doug Flutie not departed for Calgary after just two seasons in B.C. While Flutie never brought the Cup to the West Coast, he set a CFL record for most passing yards in a season with the Leos in 1991 when he threw for an unbelievable 6,619 yards, an eye-popping average of nearly 368 yards per game.
The greatest quarterback in league history headlines the list of this year’s CFL Hall of Fame inductees, joining his former Argos’ teammate Pinball Clemons, all-time rushing leader Mike Pringle, and outstanding offensive lineman John Bonk in the annual enshrinement. Former Roughriders’ president Tom Shepherd will also enter the Hall as a builder.
