It’s a high stakes showdown in the Western Conference Wild Card chase when the Vancouver Canucks (29-23-11) visit the Calgary Flames (30-23-10) tonight at Scotiabank Saddledome.
Just a single point separates the teams with the Flames starting the night a point up on the Canucks. Calgary currently holds the second wild card spot and has a game in hand on the Canucks.

What we know

With the Canucks falling 4-2 to the Montreal Canadiens last night and flying to Calgary following the game, the team did not hold a morning skate. As such, it will be closer to game time to know the lineup for tonight.
Among the questions is whether captain Quinn Hughes will play. He traveled with the team after taking part in Tuesday’s morning skate in a non-contact jersey. Hughes missed all four games on the Canucks homestand that wrapped up last night. These are desperate times, so the team very well may be pulling out all the stops tonight, including inserting Hughes, who hasn’t played since March 1st in Seattle.
The Canucks are expected to go with Kevin Lankinen in goal on consecutive nights and for the sixth straight start. Lankinen allowed three goals on 26 shots last night and has dropped back-to-back outings to Montreal and Dallas. 
Filip Hronek and Elias Pettersson scored the Vancouver goals last night. Hronek logged a season-high 27:50 last night and had his third two-point game in the past four outings. Pettersson, meanwhile, has scored power play goals in two of his last three games.
The Canucks have been held to three goals or fewer in 15 straight games and 24 times in their last 25 outings. The club has just one 5-on-5 goal from a forward in its last three outings – Kiefer Sherwood’s game-winner against Minnesota last Friday night. In nine games since the 4 Nations break, Canucks forwards have managed just seven goals at 5-on-5. Defencemen have accounted for three of the last six goals the team has scored.
The Canucks have not dropped three consecutive games in regulation time all season and tonight would be a tough time for that to occur. The team is 1-4 in its last five road games and 1-6 in the second half of back-to-back games this season.

The opponent

The Flames return to action for the first time since a 1-0 win over Montreal on Saturday. Joel Farabee scored the game’s only goal, and Dustin Wolf made 26 saves for his third shutout of the season. The rookie netminder has 22 of Calgary’s 30 wins on the season. Wolf gets the start again tonight.
Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau share the team lead in goals and points, registering identical 22-goal and 46-point seasons so far. They are the only 20-goal scorers on the Calgary roster. As a team, the Flames are 32nd in offence in the NHL, averaging 2.56 goals per game.
Part of the issue is that no team in the league gets less from its defence than the Flames, who have an NHL-low 102 points from their blueline this season.
The Flames are 2-0-2 in their last four games. Farabee has scored in consecutive games for the Flames, who have 10 goals as a team in their last six outings, and six of those came in a 6-3 win at Philadelphia last week.
Calgary has taken two of the first three match-ups against the Canucks this season winning 6-5 in overtime at Rogers Arena on opening night and 3-1 on New Year’s Eve. The Canucks posted a 3-1 victory on home ice in mid-November.
Tonight’s referees: Tom Chmielewski & Chris Lee
Tonight’s broadcasters: Jon Abbott & Kelly Hrudey
Make sure to join the Rink Wide Vancouver postgame live stream immediately following tonight’s game. Rink Wide will provide a full breakdown and comprehensive coverage of the Canucks game. When the final buzzer sounds, be sure to log onto Rink Wide and join the YouTube live chat to discuss the game with other Canucks fans. Subscribe to the Rink Wide YouTube channel and never miss an episode.
Sponsored by bet365