The 2018 Playoff Chase: The trade deadline looms
By Ryan Pike
6 years agoThe Calgary Flames have 20 games remaining on their regular season docket. They lost several games this week, but remain very much alive in perhaps the most chaotic playoff race the Western Conference has seen in years.
Here’s how things look as we approach the trade deadline.
Where they stand
(Sorted by points percentage.)
| Team | GP | W | Pts | Pct. | ROW | Div | Chances | % Change |
| Golden Knights | 60 | 40 | 84 | .700 | 38 | PAC | 100% | none |
| Predators | 60 | 37 | 83 | .692 | 32 | CEN | 99.9% | +0.1% |
| Jets | 60 | 35 | 79 | .658 | 33 | CEN | 99.4% | none |
| Wild | 60 | 33 | 73 | .608 | 30 | CEN | 74.4% | +16.8% |
| Stars | 61 | 35 | 74 | .607 | 31 | CEN | 76.5% | -9.2% |
| Sharks | 61 | 33 | 74 | .607 | 29 | PAC | 78.8% | +2.5% |
| Blues | 61 | 34 | 72 | .590 | 31 | CEN | 58.4% | -12.6% |
| Ducks | 62 | 31 | 73 | .589 | 27 | PAC | 63.7% | +28.1% |
| Kings | 61 | 33 | 71 | .582 | 31 | PAC | 77.5% | +11.7% |
| Flames | 62 | 31 | 70 | .573 | 29 | PAC | 32.9% | -25.7% |
| Avalanche | 60 | 32 | 69 | .575 | 31 | CEN | 39.0% | -11.0% |
| Blackhawks | 61 | 26 | 60 | .492 | 25 | CEN | 0.2% | none |
| Oilers | 60 | 25 | 54 | .450 | 23 | PAC | 0.0% | none |
| Canucks | 60 | 23 | 53 | .442 | 23 | PAC | 0.0% | none |
| Coyotes | 60 | 17 | 44 | .367 | 16 | PAC | 0.0% | none |
Vegas, Nashville and Winnipeg are in. They’re not mathematically in, but they just need to not collapse in on themselves over the last 20 games.
From there, it’s a big clump. Two of San Jose, Anaheim, Los Angeles and Calgary get Pacific Division spots. One of Minnesota, Dallas, St. Louis and Colorado get a Central Division spot. The two wildcard spots go to whoever’s the best of the rest. It’s a gigantic jumble.
The Flames dropped like a stone this week due to their few losses. But they’re still very much in it. Their margin for error has very much shrunk, though.
This past week
The Flames lost three of their four games this week. They lost to Florida, Boston (in OT) and Vegas, but beat Arizona.
This coming week
The Flames play three games this week, straddling the trade deadline. They host Colorado on Saturday afternoon, then play in Dallas on Tuesday and Colorado on Wednesday.
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