Five key match-ups for the Calgary Flames in April

The Calgary Flames had a really solid March, going 9-4-3. Moreover, they spent the entire month in first place and open April with a five point lead on the second place Los Angeles Kings.

There’s a quick glance at five key opponents for the Flames in the final month of the regular season.

The Flames closed out March with a home date with the Kings. They finish off their season series back in Los Angeles on Monday. The Kings and Edmonton Oilers are neck-and-neck for the second and third positions in the Pacific Division, while the Flames are trying to cement themselves as the top team in the division.

As you can imagine, Monday’s game will have some serious stakes for both clubs. Put some coffee on, though: it’s an 8:30 p.m. MT start.

Back around the All-Star Break, many in the fanbase (and media) were looking at this game and going “Hey, I bet that game could decide who wins the division.” Well… it probably won’t, and it’s more about Vegas trying to stay in the playoff race and try to catch up to the Oilers and Kings.

But depending on how things go, this is roughly the beginning of a stretch of games where the Flames could feasibly clinch the division.

There are two teams that are the most likely to finish in the first wildcard spot and face the Flames in the opening round. The Flames play both of them in April. They face the Predators twice, both times in scenic Nashville, both times in the last two weeks.

These games probably won’t be terribly meaningful in the standings – probably not for the Flames, at least – but they could both be a preview of the first round.

The other team the Flames could match up with is Dallas. The Flames host the Stars in their second-last regular season home date. Again, this probably won’t be an important game in the standings for the Flames, but it’s another potential tune-up before a post-season match-up so it could be an interesting preview of things to come.

Coming on the second-last day of the regular season, it’s highly likely that the Flames and Wild will be locked into playoff spots (and specific seeds, too). But this is still likely to be a game between two of the top teams in the conference battling just days before the Stanley Cup playoffs begin.

Expect both teams to be ramping up and likely treating this game as a dress rehearsal. We might not see full Game 1 playoff lineups, but expect them to be at near-playoff intensity.

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