Canucks Gameday Preview #72: Vancouver Could Clinch Their First Playoff Berth In Four Years With A Win Over The L.A. Kings

Adam Kierszenblat

Mar 25, 2024, 07:20

Adam Kierszenblat

Mar 25, 2024, 07:20

With a Canucks win and a Blues loss versus the Vegas Golden Knights, Vancouver would clinch their first postseason berth since 2020.

Monday's game could be a special one, as with a win over the L.A. Kings (37-22-1) and a St. Louis Blues loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, the Vancouver Canucks (45-18-8) would be playoff bound for the first time since 2020. The Canucks and Kings have split the first two games of this four-game season series, with each team picking up a win as the away team. With a victory, Vancouver would hit the 100-point mark for the tenth time in franchise history while extending their win streak to four games.

Canucks fans will have an idea of whether Vancouver is playoff bound or not by approximately the middle of the third period. This is because the Blues vs Knights game starts an hour earlier and should finish before the end of the Canucks and Kings. While there will be plenty of eyes on the other game, Vancouver also needs to do their job by winning the game if they want to become the first team in the NHL to clinch a playoff berth.

Players to Watch

Quinn Hughes

Quinn Hughes has been remarkable so far this season. On Saturday, he became the fifth U.S.-born defenceman to record 80 points in a season and, with one point against L.A., would move into third all-time on the Canucks points by a defenceman list. A leader for this group, he could also follow in the footsteps of Bo Horvat, Henrik Sedin and Roberto Luongo as captains in franchise history to lead their team to the postseason in their first season wearing the "C."

Drew Doughty

Drew Doughty has once again been a pain in Vancouver's side this season. The Kings defenceman had a goal and two assists the last time he played at Rogers Arena and comes into this game looking for his 15th goal of the season. The Canucks should expect to see plenty of the future Hall of Famer as he comes into this matchup averaging 25:47 a night this season.

Projected Lineup

Höglander- Pettersson- Garland

Di Giuseppe- Miller- Boeser

Mikheyev- Blueger- Lafferty

Podkolzin- Suter- Åman

Hughes- Myers

Cole- Soucy

Zadorov- Hronek

DeSmith

Šilovs

Odd Courtesy of BetMGM

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