The 2018 Playoff Chase: Post-deadline blues
By Ryan Pike
6 years agoWhen we last checked in on the playoff chase, we noted that the Calgary Flames needed to get some traction in the standings. They didn’t seem to get the memo, basically running in place since last week. Unfortunately, seemingly everybody else made up ground and their postseason odds are gradually worsening.
Let’s take a quick look at who’s alive, who’s dead, and who’s somewhere in between.
Where they stand
(Sorted by points percentage.)
| Team | GP | W | Pts | Pct. | ROW | Div | Chances | % Change |
| Predators | 63 | 40 | 89 | .706 | 35 | CEN | 100% | +0.1% |
| Golden Knights | 63 | 41 | 87 | .690 | 39 | PAC | 100% | none |
| Jets | 63 | 37 | 83 | .659 | 35 | CEN | 99.9% | +0.4% |
| Wild | 64 | 36 | 79 | .617 | 33 | CEN | 90.8% | +16.4% |
| Sharks | 65 | 35 | 79 | .607 | 31 | PAC | 86.1% | +7.3% |
| Stars | 64 | 36 | 77 | .602 | 32 | CEN | 79.5% | +3.0% |
| Kings | 65 | 36 | 77 | .592 | 34 | PAC | 89.0% | +11.5% |
| Avalanche | 63 | 34 | 73 | .579 | 33 | CEN | 46.8% | +7.8% |
| Ducks | 64 | 31 | 74 | .578 | 27 | PAC | 50.0% | -13.7% |
| Blues | 65 | 35 | 74 | .569 | 32 | CEN | 29.8% | -28.6% |
| Flames | 65 | 32 | 73 | .561 | 30 | PAC | 28.0% | -4.9% |
| Blackhawks | 64 | 27 | 62 | .484 | 26 | CEN | 0.1% | -0.1% |
| Oilers | 64 | 27 | 58 | .453 | 24 | PAC | 0.0% | none |
| Canucks | 64 | 24 | 56 | .438 | 24 | PAC | 0.0% | none |
| Coyotes | 63 | 19 | 48 | .381 | 18 | PAC | 0.0% | none |
Minnesota’s surge in the last week is probably enough that they can coast the rest of the way. They join Vegas, Winnipeg and Nashville in the “in” group. That probably ties up all three Central divisional spots and one Pacific spot.
On the other end, Calgary and St. Louis basically have zero margin for error now. Everybody else can afford a couple losses and still survive, but those two teams really need to string points together in order to stay with the pack. But within the pack, there’s standings chaos as many teams fight for two Pacific spots and two wild card spots.
The Flames are four points back of the Kings for the last divisional spot and one point back of the Ducks for the last wild card spot.
This past week
The Flames beat Colorado 5-1 on Saturday, then lost to Dallas 2-0 on Tuesday and to Colorado 5-2 on Wednesday.
This coming week
The Flames host the NY Rangers on Friday, then head east to Pittsburgh on Monday and to Buffalo on Wednesday.
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