The Vancouver Canucks won six straight games to fight back into the Western Conference playoff race.

Just when it started to look like they would seize control of their path to the postseason, things unravelled in a hurry last night.

The Canucks looked in command, up 2-0 on the Ottawa Senators through 20 minutes. 

Then Jaroslav Halak left the game with an injury, Ottawa scored the next three goals, and the Senators went on to win the game 4-3 in a shootout.

On a night when the Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators both won, Vancouver needed to secure two points versus Ottawa.

Instead, they lost ground in the West playoff race and now sit four points out of a playoff spot with five games left and a demanding schedule to close out the season.

Here’s the TSN EDGE Morning Coffee for Wednesday, April 20th, 2022.

Canucks No Longer Control Path To The Playoffs 

The Canucks entered last night at +570 to make the playoffs at FanDuel Sportsbook.

That number represented a 14.9 per cent implied probability.

Their chances to get in will be that much longer after letting an important point slip away against the Senators.

Vancouver was four points back of the Kings for third in the Pacific Division, with both a game in hand and a game against Los Angeles on April 28th.

The Canucks would have been guaranteed a top-three seed in the Pacific Division if they had won out.

Instead, Ottawa rallied from down two goals and beat Vancouver as a +205 ML underdog.

FanDuel had Ottawa at +420 ML down 2-1 entering the third period. 

Now, the Canucks will enter their final five-game stretch with zero room for error and need a little help from other teams to get into the postseason.

The Kings beat the Anaheim Ducks 2-1 last night to extend their lead over Vancouver in the standings to five points.

LA will close out the regular season with four straight games against opponents currently outside of a playoff spot, including a trip to Vancouver for their regular-season finale.

Meanwhile, the Canucks are now four points back of the Dallas Stars for the final Wild Card spot with one more game played.

Hockey fans in Vancouver will be cheering for a pair of Canadian Western Conference rivals when Dallas visits the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday and then the Calgary Flames on Thursday.

The Canucks have games remaining against the Minnesota Wild, Flames, Seattle Kraken, Kings and Oilers to close out their regular season schedule.

I’d be shocked if Vancouver got into the playoffs with anything less than 10 points the rest of the way.

Then again, we’ve seen some strange things over the past two weeks in the Western Conference.

Meanwhile, Ottawa’s win wasn’t even the biggest upset in the NHL last night.

The Detroit Red Wings beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 as a +400 money line underdog.

It’s the second-biggest upset in the NHL this season.

After a remarkable four-day run by the favourites spanning back to last Friday night, NHL chalk went just 6-4 straight up last night. 

Maple Leafs Win Again Without Matthews

The Toronto Maple Leafs took care of business with a 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers as a -450 ML favourite.

They also covered the puck line at -2.5 +100.

Jack Campbell made 37 saves to improve to 30-9-5 this season.

It’s the first time he’s hit the 30-win mark in his career.

Toronto improved to 6-1 without Auston Matthews in the lineup this season. 

Booker Injured, Pelicans Rally For Split In Phoenix

The Phoenix Suns looked like they were headed to a 2-0 series lead, up five points on the New Orleans Pelicans at the half in Game 2 last night.

Instead, Devin Booker left the game with an injury, Brandon Ingram scored a game-high 37 points, and the Pelicans stunned Phoenix 125-114 as a +385 money line underdog.

The Suns were a 10-point favourite on the spread.

It was just the second time that Phoenix has lost as a double-digit favourite this season.

And just the third time so far in the NBA playoffs that the betting favourite has lost outright.

With the Miami Heat and Memphis Grizzlies both winning and covering last night, NBA favourites are 11-3 straight up and 9-5 against the spread in the first round.

While it’s just one loss for Phoenix, the bigger concern is Booker’s injury and whether or not he will be forced to miss significant time.

As of this morning, we’re still waiting for series prices to pop back up once we get an update on Booker’s status.

Meanwhile, it’s impossible to talk about last night’s game without addressing one of the most incredible stats I think I’ve ever come across.

Following last night’s loss, Chris Paul is now 0-14 all-time in playoff games with Scott Foster as the referee.

If nothing else, that is a remarkable statistic.