Canucks are division champs for first time in 11 years

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The Vancouver Canucks aren’t just heading back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they’re doing it in style.

The Canucks clinched the Pacific Division title Tuesday night at Rogers Arena, beating the Calgary Flames 4-1 in their final home game of the regular season.

Thatcher Demko was excellent in his return to the lineup, stopping 39 of 40 shots faced and showing no signs of rust.

Vancouver’s first goal of the game came shorthanded by Tyler Myers, who ripped a shot past Jacob Markstrom 12 minutes into the first period.

Nils Höglander doubled Vancouver’s lead 1:28 later, finishing off a pretty passing play from Elias Pettersson and Ilya Mikheyev.

Before the two-minute mark of the second period, the Canucks blew the game open when Dakota Joshua’s wrist shot beat Markstrom. It gave the Canucks a 3-0 lead they took into the third period.

Defenceman Brayden Pachal scored midway through the third period to get Calgary on the board, but J.T. Miller answered back with a goal of his own with under five minutes left. Miller now has 103 points on the season, which is the seventh-highest scoring season in franchise history.

The Canucks will finish first in the Pacific Division, and if the playoffs began tomorrow, they’d play the Nashville Predators. But their first-round opponent is not yet set. If the Dallas Stars lose in regulation time against St. Louis tomorrow, the Canucks will have a chance to top the Western Conference with a win in their regular season finale in Winnipeg.

If the Canucks finish first in the West, they’ll play either Vegas or Los Angeles.

More to come…

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