The Vancouver Canucks are in Hail Mary territory with their playoff hopes.

Heading into Saturday’s road clash with the Calgary Flames, the Canucks (38-29-11, 87 points) sit four points behind the Dallas Stars for the second Western Conference wild-card spot, with the 89-point Vegas Golden Knights between them.

Not only must the Canucks run the table in their final four games, starting with the Pacific Division-champion Flames (48-20-10, 106 points), but they also require all kinds of help.

“They never quit. They never die,” Canucks coach Bruce Boudreau said. “Obviously (Thursday’s loss) was very disappointing at the end, but the fact that they could have given up a long time ago — the odds were so against us — but they believed, and they still believe. They’ll believe again (Saturday). Until it shows that we’re eliminated, I’m sure these guys are going to keep pushing right to the end.”

It’s likely their fate truly was sealed by a 6-14-2 start to the season, but the Canucks pushed to the point that they had a chance after beating the Stars on Monday to give them a six-game winning streak. Vancouver boasts three 30-goal scorers for the first time since 1995-96 and Elias Pettersson scored 13 goals in the last dozen games.

However, the club has dropped consecutive games, the latest defeat Thursday’s crushing 6-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild, a game in which they held a 3-2 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the second period.

“We understand what that (loss) means,” forward Conor Garland said. “Tough to be tied against probably one of the top two, three teams in the Western Conference in the third period, and we just couldn’t find a way to get it done.”

The Flames, who are on an 8-1-1 tear, officially clinched their first division title since 2019 with Thursday’s 4-2 victory over Dallas.

It’s been a banner season in Calgary, and not only with the divisional crown. The Flames have a pair of 100-point players (Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk) for the first time since the 1990-91 campaign and four different 35-plus goal scorers for the first time since 1993-94 (Tkachuk, Gaudreau, Elias Lindholm and Andrew Mangiapane). The last team to reach that feat was the 1995-96 Pittsburgh Penguins.

“This team’s had a hell of a season when you look at it,” coach Darryl Sutter said. “There’s no way around it. Clinch (a playoff spot) with two weeks left and clinch a title with four games left — that’s a hell of a regular season.”

However, all that won’t mean much if the Flames suffer a fate as bad as 2019, when they claimed the Western Conference regular-season title but were eliminated in the first round in five games by the Colorado Avalanche.

“It is a huge accomplishment, but we still have the toughest part and that’s ultimately to win the Stanley Cup,” defenseman Rasmus Andersson said. “It’s going to be tough, it’s going to be challenging and it’s going to be fun, but we have these four games left and have to keep playing good hockey. The mindset is we have to treat these four games that they really matter and have a good feeling going into the playoffs.”

With the goal to use these clashes as preparation for a potential playoff run, don’t expect Sutter to completely put away the whip.

“You want them sharp. The worst thing is giving guys too much time off,” he said.

–Field Level Media

Just because the San Jose Sharks are eliminated from playoff contention, coach Bob Boughner won’t tolerate his players playing out the string.

Boughner let it be known he won’t accept what happened in their last outing when the Sharks play host to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.

San Jose (30-35-12, 72 points) dropped a 3-1 game on Thursday to the St. Louis Blues, and Boughner didn’t like the way his team went through the motions, especially his leaders. He dropped Timo Meier to the fourth line early in the third period while his team was down a goal.

“You’re not going to win a game scoring one goal, and you’re not going to win against these guys when the power plays are five to one at the end of the night,” Boughner said. “You certainly aren’t going to win against these guys unless your best players are your best players, and all three of those things didn’t happen.”

The Sharks, who have used a franchise-record 18 rookies this season, are in a 1-7-4 slump.

There are some positives for San Jose. Rudolfs Balcers and Noah Gregor have both collected two goals and two assists in respective three-game point streaks. Their linemate, rookie Thomas Bordeleau, the 2020 second-round draft choice who signed with the team after his sophomore season at Michigan, has two assists over his first three NHL games.

“It’s been working out pretty well for us,” Gregor said. “Rudy and I are pretty north and south and (Bordeleau) is able to make plays and hit us with speed, and so far in the games we’ve played together, we’ve played pretty solid.”

The Blackhawks, who have only two wins in their last 13 outings (2-9-2), arrive in San Jose after a 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday and are ending a three-game road trip.

Chicago (26-41-11, 63 points) hung tough with a Kings team looking to clinch a playoff spot and held it to a 2-1 score midway through the third period.

“They were buzzing. We knew they were going to come hard, we just couldn’t find the energy,” interim coach Derek King said. “We looked tired physically. We looked tired mentally. We were getting frustrated. Hats off to them.”

Los Angeles held a 17-6 edge in shots in the first period and 11-5 margin in the middle frame.

“We did a good job of clawing back and staying in it,” forward Dylan Strome said. “We kept it 2-1 for a while and had some chances there, especially on the power play. They’re a team that’s desperate, in a playoff spot and fighting to keep it. I think it showed.”

While it’s been a disappointing season for Chicago, forward Alex DeBrincat is finishing strong. DeBrincat, who has collected one goal and eight assists in a five-game point streak, is one goal shy of matching his career best of 41 and tied his career best with 76 points.

He is the eighth player in franchise history to collect multiple 40-goal seasons, joining the likes of Bobby Hull, Steve Larmer, Jeremy Roenick, Denis Savard, Al Secord, Tony Amonte and teammate Patrick Kane.

“I don’t think you cherish it as much when (you score 40) in your second (NHL) season, and then you realize how hard it is to get back,” DeBrincat said.

–Field Level Media

Jonathan Quick and John Gibson put on a goaltending clinic the last time they met.

They likely will face off again when the Los Angeles Kings play host to the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night. It will be the Kings’ regular-season home finale.

Quick made 29 saves for the Kings in a 2-1 win at Anaheim on Tuesday.

On Thursday, Quick came back with 15 saves in a 4-1 win against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks, the third straight game he limited the opposition to one goal.

“He feels real good in the net right now and we feel good with him in the net right now,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said.

The win against the Ducks on Tuesday and the Blackhawks on Thursday helped keep the Kings five points ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights for third place in the Pacific Division.

A win against the Ducks would move the Kings one win away from clinching a playoff spot, after missing the postseason each of the last three seasons.

“We should be getting excited about the opportunity and the best thing that we have is control,” McLellan said.

Gibson made 26 saves against the Kings this week, but took the loss for the 14th time in his past 15 starts (1-11-3).

Gibson, who started for the Pacific Division in the NHL All-Star Game in February, has been sharper in recent games, setting a franchise record with 52 saves in a 3-2 overtime loss at the Florida Panthers on April 12.

He earned his first win since March 1 in a 6-4 victory against the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday, and then came back with the strong performance against the Kings.

Gibson is 14-9-0 in 24 appearances against the Kings with a 2.34 goals-against average and .919 save percentage.

Quick is 26-13-9 in 50 career appearances against the Ducks with a 2.37 goals-against average and .912 save percentage.

Regardless of the playoff implications on Saturday night, the goaltending matchup figures to be one to watch again.

“When I think of the Kings-Ducks rivalry, I think of Gibson and Quick,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said “I thought they were both going at it (on Tuesday). It was very reminiscent of battles of the past. I thought Quick was very good and Gibby was right there matching him.”

Quick, 36, won his 20th game of the season against the Ducks, the ninth time he has reached that milestone in his NHL career.

Gibson, 28, needs two more wins to reach the 20-win mark for the sixth time in his career.

In order for the Ducks to help Gibson get there, they’ll need to stay sharp on their power play.

Anaheim scored its only goal on Tuesday with the man-advantage, and pressured Quick heavily on the other three power plays.

The Ducks are 13th in the NHL on the power play

“Our power play was back to where we were earlier in the year,” Eakins said. “We had multiple, multiple chances (against the Kings). We were highly dangerous.”

–Field Level Media