The 2018 Playoff Chase: A tall order
By Ryan Pike
6 years agoWhen last we checked in on the races, the Calgary Flames were hitting the skids. Well, they’ve finally gotten some points and are stringing together some good games. But the clock is ticking and they face an uphill battle to make the playoffs.
Here’s our weekly snapshot of the Western Conference’s playoff race.
Where they stand
(Sorted by points percentage.)
| Team | GP | W | Pts | Pct. | ROW | Div | Chances | % Change |
| Predators | 67 | 44 | 97 | .724 | 39 | CEN | 100% | none |
| Golden Knights | 67 | 43 | 91 | .679 | 41 | PAC | 100% | none |
| Jets | 67 | 41 | 91 | .679 | 39 | CEN | 100% | +0.1% |
| Wild | 67 | 38 | 83 | .619 | 35 | CEN | 92.3% | +1.5% |
| Sharks | 67 | 36 | 81 | .604 | 32 | PAC | 84.6% | -1.5% |
| Stars | 67 | 37 | 80 | .597 | 33 | CEN | 72.5% | -7.0% |
| Kings | 67 | 37 | 79 | .590 | 35 | PAC | 86.3% | -2.7% |
| Ducks | 68 | 34 | 80 | .588 | 30 | PAC | 69.6% | +19.6% |
| Avalanche | 67 | 35 | 78 | .582 | 34 | CEN | 55.1% | +8.3% |
| Blues | 67 | 35 | 75 | .560 | 32 | CEN | 19.6% | -10.2% |
| Flames | 68 | 33 | 76 | .559 | 31 | PAC | 19.9% | -8.1% |
| Blackhawks | 68 | 29 | 66 | .485 | 28 | CEN | 0.0% | -0.1% |
| Oilers | 67 | 29 | 62 | .462 | 25 | PAC | 0.0% | none |
| Canucks | 67 | 25 | 59 | .440 | 25 | PAC | 0.0% | none |
| Coyotes | 66 | 21 | 53 | .402 | 20 | PAC | Out | Eliminated |
Nashville, Vegas, Winnipeg and Minnesota are functionally in. The Sharks and Kings have the inside track on the two remaining Pacific Division spots based on points percentage. Dallas, Anaheim, Colorado, St. Louis and Calgary are duking it out for two wild card spots.
The Flames are three points back of Los Angeles for the last wild card spot and four points back of Anaheim for the last Pacific Division spot.
This past week
The Flames lost to the NY Rangers in regulation, lost to Pittsburgh in overtime, then walloped Buffalo in regulation.
This coming week
The Flames play three times before next Friday: they visit Ottawa on Friday, then host the NY Islanders on Sunday and Edmonton on Wednesday.
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