The 2017 Playoff Chase: Resurgence
By Ryan Pike
7 years agoWelcome to the seventh week of our Western Conference playoff race coverage. A week ago, the Calgary Flames were very much on the outside looking in (and hoping that they got some help). Well, they did pretty well this week in their own games and got some help from basically everyone that played the Los Angeles Kings.
Let’s check out the race as we begin the weekend!
WHERE THEY STAND
| Team | GP | W | Pts | Pct | ROW | Div | Chances | % Change |
| Wild | 59 | 39 | 84 | .712 | 36 | CEN | 100% | none |
| Blackhawks | 61 | 38 | 81 | .664 | 36 | CEN | 100% | none |
| Sharks | 60 | 35 | 77 | .642 | 33 | PAC | 100% | up 0.1% |
| Oilers | 61 | 33 | 74 | .607 | 29 | PAC | 99.8% | up 0.3% |
| Ducks | 62 | 32 | 74 | .597 | 30 | PAC | 98.3% | down 0.3% |
| Blues | 60 | 31 | 67 | .558 | 30 | CEN | 92.2% | down 4.8% |
| Predators | 60 | 29 | 67 | .558 | 27 | CEN | 82.9% | up 3.0% |
| Flames | 61 | 31 | 66 | .541 | 28 | PAC | 62.2% | up 24.4% |
| Kings | 60 | 29 | 62 | .517 | 28 | PAC | 52.4% | down 27.5% |
| Jets | 63 | 28 | 62 | .492 | 26 | CEN | 10.0% | up 6.2% |
| Canucks | 60 | 26 | 58 | .483 | 22 | PAC | 1.9% | down 0.7% |
| Stars | 60 | 23 | 56 | .467 | 23 | CEN | 1.4% | up 0.5% |
| Coyotes | 59 | 21 | 49 | .415 | 16 | PAC | 0.0% | none |
| Avalanche | 59 | 16 | 35 | .297 | 16 | PAC | 0.0% | none |
The Flames head into the weekend eighth in points and in points percentage. Any way you slice it, they’re defending a playoff spot right now.
The Blues have slid back into the pack a bit. As it stands, three of the Flames, Predators, Kings and Blues will make it. Nashville and St. Louis have a bit of a benefit by virtue of being in the Central Division; they’re chasing a divisional spot and the two wildcard spots simultaneously, while the Flames and Kings are way, way back of the last Pacific Division spot.
Man, the Kings crashed this week. The Flames gained a ton of ground, ending up ahead of the Kings in points, points percentage and playoff probability. Their game next week could potentially squash Los Angeles’ playoff hopes for this season.
If the playoffs began today, the Flames would be playing Minnesota.
THIS PAST WEEK
The Flames played three road games over the past seven days. They got the loser point in overtime in Vancouver, then beat Nashville in overtime and Tampa Bay in regulation. Five of a possible six points is a rock-solid week by any measure.
THIS COMING WEEK
The Flames play three more games between now and next Friday, and this week also includes the trade deadline. They play in Florida on Friday, in Carolina on Sunday and then are back home against Los Angeles on Tuesday.
As for the teams the Flames are chasing?
- St. Louis (one game in hand, one point up) plays against Chicago and Edmonton.
- Nashville (one game in hand, one point up) plays against Washington, Edmonton, Buffalo and Montreal.
- Los Angeles (one game in hand, four points back) plays Anaheim, Minnesota, Calgary and Toronto.
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