The Calgary Flames sit in a playoff spot with 14 games remaining in their regular season schedule. They sit smack-dab in the middle of a very chaotic, tumultuous Western Conference playoff picture where a dozen teams have a believable chance at playing past April 4.
Here’s our weekly snapshot of the chase.
The Pacific Division
GP | Pct. | Pts | Reg W | ROW | This weekend | |
Golden Knights (P1) | 68 | .603 | 82 | 29 | 34 | 3/6 at WPG, 3/8 at CGY |
Oilers (P2) | 67 | .597 | 80 | 30 | 34 | 3/5 at CHI, 3/7 vs CBJ |
Flames (P3) | 68 | .566 | 77 | 24 | 29 | 3/6 vs ARZ, 3/8 vs VGK |
Canucks (WC1) | 66 | .561 | 74 | 26 | 31 | 3/6 vs COL, 3/8 vs CBJ |
Coyotes | 68 | .544 | 74 | 26 | 28 | 3/6 at CGY |
Notable Central teams
GP | Pct. | Pts | Reg W | ROW | This weekend | |
Wild (WC2) | 66 | .553 | 73 | 29 | 31 | 3/5 at SJS, 3/7 at LAK, 3/8 at ANA |
Predators | 66 | .545 | 72 | 25 | 29 | 3/5 vs DAL, 3/7 at DAL |
Jets | 68 | .544 | 74 | 27 | 31 | 3/6 vs VGK |
Blackhawks | 66 | .515 | 68 | 21 | 26 | 3/5 vs EDM, 3/6 at DET, 3/8 vs STL |
The tiebreakers are, in order:
- Points percentage.
- Regulation wins.
- Regulation and overtime wins (ROW).
- Wins of any kind.
- Points earned in head-to-head games between tied teams. (If they’ve played an uneven amount of games head-to-head, the first “extra” home game is thrown out.)
- Goal differential.
- Goals for.
Typically-speaking, it’s rare that tiebreakers go further than a couple levels down. But the “regulation wins” distinction is new this season, and the idea is to de-emphasize the shootout.
The race
As always, we’re looking at points percentage because every team has played a weird number of games and it’s difficult to make apples-to-apples comparisons otherwise.
Seven of the eight teams that were in playoffs spots remain there. The exception? Nashville was bumped out by Minnesota.
If the playoffs began today:
- St. Louis (C1) vs. Minnesota (WC2)
- Colorado (C2) vs. St. Louis (C3)
- Vegas (P1) vs. Vancouver (WC1)
- Edmonton (P2) vs. Calgary (P3)
As has been the case for awhile, the three Central Division spots seem sewn up.
In the Pacific, there’s the potential for some shuffling. Vegas and Edmonton seem likely to be jostling for top spot for awhile. Meanwhile, Vancouver has slid from comfortably in top spot to… not. They’re battling with the Flames for the last divisional spot.
Speaking of the wildcard, the Flames are the team with the most upward potential – potentially dislodging the Canucks. Otherwise, they’re fighting with Minnesota, Nashville, Winnipeg and Arizona for two playoff spots.