Canucks move into 4th place, Bleaken Blues Hopes

On Thursday night captain Roberto Luongo and the Vancouver Canucks made what was already going to be a very steep climb for the St. Louis Blues an even steeper one. Luongo finished the game with 30 saves and earned his 46th career shutout as the Canucks toppled the Blues by a 3-0 score. The Blues, who have been on a pretty good streak lately, saw their hopes fade somewhat as Edmonton, Nashville and Anaheim all picked up points on Thursday night.

The Blues are still not completely out of it, as they are still just 4 points out of a playoff spot and have a game in hand on most teams, but they only have 11 games left and there are 3 teams in between them and the Nashville Predators, who currently hold the 8th and final playoff spot.

Things could not be looking much better for the Canucks as they continued their winning ways. The victory against St. Louis was their 4th straight and also their 11th straight win at home. The win vaults them into 4th place, leaping over the idle Chicago Blackhawks. The 11 game winning streak is a good indication of how important home ice can be. If the Canucks can finish 4th or higher, they will be guaranteed home ice in the first round.

The Hawks do have a game in hand on the Canucks, which they will play tonight at home against the Edmonton Oilers. The Canucks will be hoping that their fellow members of the Northwest Division can do them a favour and defeat Chicago.

The Canucks next game will be tomorrow night in Phoenix against Wayne Gretzky’s Coyotes. The game will be shown on Hockey Night and Canada and is the first game of a 6 game road trip for Vancouver.