Vancouver Canucks vs. Calgary Flames: 5 things more likely than a Canucks comeback

NHL teams like the Canucks — down 3-1 in a best-of-seven series — have come back to win 20 out of 229 times, or 8.7 per cent of the time.

But here are a few things that have better probability of happening:

An enormous sun megaflare hitting Earth in the next decade

• 12 per cent chance (source: Wired Magazine, quoting space physicist Pete Riley, senior scientist at Predictive Science in San Diego, Cali.)

Dying after being struck by lightning 

• 9 per cent chance (Good news: 91 per cent of people struck by lightning survive.)

Being female and left-handed

• 8.8 per cent chance (11.4 per cent chance if you're male.)

Earth being 6 C warmer than it is today 

• 10 per cent chance (Source: Earth Statement issued by 17 scientists and economists on Earth Day)

Not having twins

• 97 per cent chance

Unrelated, but interesting

• Meditation advocates claim meditating makes you 10 per cent happier. Canucks fans may want to take note.

Canucks notes:

The Alex Burrows mystery deepens. Burrows remains in Calgary, two days after being injured. Sources close to the team say he has a hockey-related rib injury. 

Brad Richardson, one of the Canucks' key penalty killers (along with Burrows) will be a game-time decision. Richardson has been fighting an ankle injury.

The Sven Baertschi scrum at Thursday morning's skate was a thing to behold. (Note: reporters are banned from taking photos in the Canucks' dressing room, but not the team.)

Baertschi, a former Flames first round draft pick, will make his playoff debut on Thursday night for Vancouver.