How soon Canucks can clinch last place in the NHL standings

The Vancouver Canucks became the first team to be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday.

It was merely a formality, because we’ve known this team would miss the playoffs for months. Of more importance is securing last place, which guarantees the best odds heading into the NHL Draft Lottery.

So how close are they to doing that?

With 13 games left on their schedule, the Canucks appear to have a stranglehold on 32nd place. Vancouver would have to get on a late-season roll for the ages to erase the 15-point cushion they have built up.

The battle for last place.

The Canucks could clinch last place in the NHL standings as soon as this weekend, though that would require three straight regulation losses, combined with three wins each from the four teams directly ahead of them.

We’ll likely need to wait a little longer before Vancouver clinches 32nd, but rest assured, not even the Canucks can screw this up.

Even if the Canucks set a new franchise record with 13 straight wins, the Calgary Flames, New York Rangers, and Chicago Blackhawks would still finish ahead of Vancouver if they each merely posted 5-6-1 records. The St. Louis Blues, meanwhile, could go 4-7-1 and still finish ahead.

And just how surprising would it be for the Canucks to go on a late-season win streak? Vancouver has just two win streaks all season, a three-game streak in October and a four-game streak in December. Other than that, they haven’t won more than one game in a row this season.

The Canucks have had plenty of bad seasons in their 56-year history, but they’ve never actually finished dead-last before. They’ve also never picked first overall in the draft.

Canucks fans are hoping that changes in June.

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