Everybody Chill – The Numbers Game
By Ryan Pike
9 years agoThe Calgary Flames lost last night.
They have seven games remaining. They have to win a good chunk of them to have a realistic chance at the post-season.
No, they didn’t look particularly good last night. No, it probably isn’t an encouraging sign to kick off a road trip.
But everybody take a look at the following numbers and calm down a bit. Nothing’s over. Not yet.
ELIMINATION NUMBERS
We’ve reviewed magic numbers a bit already, but let’s discuss elimination numbers. Simply put, elimination numbers are the magic numbers other teams have versus Calgary – the wins by them (or losses by Calgary) required so that the Flames cannot catch them.
With 7 games left, the most points Calgary can possibly have is 101 (87+14).
- Anaheim already has 101 points, so Calgary cannot catch them.
- Nashville already has 100 points. Their elimination number is 0.5.
- St. Louis already has 99 points. Their elimination number is 1.
Not surprising so far. Calgary isn’t going to win the conference or division. Shocking.
- Chicago already has 94 points. Their elimination number is 3.5.
- Minnesota already has 93 points. Their elimination number is 4.
Not huge surprises, again. Let’s get into the messier areas, shall we?
- Winnipeg already has 90 points. Their elimination number is 5.5. (Calgary’s magic number on them is 9.)
- Vancouver already has 90 points. Their elimination number is 5.5. (Calgary’s magic number on them is 10.)
- Los Angeles already has 88 points. Their elimination number is 6.5. (Calgary’s magic number on them is 9.)
- Dallas already has 82 points. Their elimination number is 9.5. (Calgary’s magic number on them is 5.)
Dallas, Colorado and San Jose all have similar elimination numbers on Calgary given their similar point totals.
But the moral of this story is that Calgary is still chasing Winnipeg, Vancouver and Los Angeles. They trail them by between one and three points with seven games left, including one each against both Los Angeles and Winnipeg.
Is the race a bit tougher now that Calgary has lost to Minnesota? Sure. Is it impossible? Definitely not. So everybody calm down. Nothing is over.
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