The Vancouver Canucks now embark on the difficult California road trip as they try to continue their playoff push and bust out of a slump, having lost four out of their five games.
Entering play on Wednesday, the Canucks sit two points behind the Minnesota Wild for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference — and four behind the St. Louis Blues for the seventh seed. But the Blues have two games in hand, so the Wild are the lone team the Canucks need to worry about right now.
Injuries have piled up on the Canucks, with Sven Baertschi, Brandon Sutter, Alexander Edler and Thatcher Demko are all hurting, while Jacob Markstrom isn’t at 100 percent.