The Canucks have lost their chance at a playoff berth after losing 2-1 to the Edmonton Oilers at GM Place Thursday night.
It was a game the Canucks needed to win to even have a chance to remain in a neck-and-neck-and-neck race with the Calgary Flames and the Nashville Predators.
But the defeat has instead allowed both the Flames and the Predators to clinch the remaining playoff spots.
With the score 2-0 in the third period after goals by Oiler Marty Reasoner and Jarret Stoll, the Canucks rallied back, and Alex Borrows scored with only 6:57 remaining in the third period.
But it wasn't enough -- and the game ended with two Canucks in the penalty box: Henrik Sedin and Alex Edler.
It's a disappointment for players, fans and bar owners. There was a lot riding on the game, and with no playoffs, bar attendance -- not to mention money changing hands for beer and nachos -- plummets.
Dan Buckingham at The Pound Bar and Grill -- a stone's throw from GM Place -- said hockey keeps his bar full.
"It's not our bread and butter but it's a little extra -- during game nights you rush before the game and again after the game. It keeps people here," he said.
Speculating before the game, he said that a loss Thursday night would cost his bar about $10,000 a night in lost revenue. And he says he will have to cut his staff from eight people on game nights to just two in the evening.
"It's events like this in our location that really keeps this business running," he said.
The players were feeling the pressure too. Today at the practice there weren't many smiles.
"We need everyone tonight and that's the bottom line," Canucks forward Daniel Sedin told CTV earlier in the day.
