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Canucks, Flames meet in key battle

Mar 30, 2008 - 1:15 PM Calgary (40-28-10) at Vancouver (38-30-10) 10:00 pm EDT

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Ticker) -- Despite only four points separating them, the Calgary Flames appear certain to make the playoffs while the Vancouver Canucks are fighting for their postseason lives.

The Canucks will attempt to close the gap between them and the Flames when they host their Northwest Division rival on Sunday.

With 90 points, Calgary appears to be in good shape for the postseason despite being tied for sixth place with Colorado (42-31-6) with four games left to play.

The Flames hold a four-point lead over Nashville (39-31-8), Vancouver (38-30-10) and Edmonton (40-34-6) - the teams that are in a three-way tie for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

However, Calgary missed out on an opportunity to solidify its postseason chances even further and forge a tie with Dallas (43-29-6) for fifth place in the standings on Saturday as it endured a 2-1 loss to the Oilers. Calgary outshot Edmonton, 32-21, but netminder Miikka Kiprusoff surrendered two third-period goals.

The Canucks have no such margin for error after Friday's 4-0 setback at division-leading Minnesota - their fourth consecutive defeat in which they have been outscored, 15-6. The shutout marked the second time in eight games Vancouver was blanked.

Although Vancouver is 4-2-0 vs. Calgary this season, the Flames have won the last two meetings, including a 3-2 home win over the Canucks on Tuesday.

The Canucks will also have to play the rest of the way without center Brendan Morrison, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in Wednesday's 6-3 loss to the Avalanche.