The race to the bottom goes down to the wire

8 years ago

The National Hockey League season ends on Sunday, and all eyes are on playoff races.

For the teams at the bottom end of the standings, though, eyes are on the race to the bottom of the NHL standings (and the top of the NHL’s draft lottery odds). Currently sitting at 26th overall, the Calgary Flames are in the thick of that race.

Here’s the state of the race heading into tonight’s games.

TIE-BREAKERS

Courtesy NHL.com:

The fewer
number of games played (i.e., superior points percentage).The greater
number of games won, excluding games won in the Shootout. This figure is
reflected in the ROW column.
The greater
number of points earned in games between the tied clubs. If two clubs
are tied, and have not played an equal number of home games against each
other, points earned in the first game played in the city that had the
extra game shall not be included. If more than two clubs are tied, the
higher percentage of available points earned in games among those clubs,
and not including any “”odd”” games, shall be used to determine the
standing.
The greater
differential between goals for and against for the entire regular
season. NOTE: In standings a victory in a shootout counts as one goal
for, while a shootout loss counts as one goal against.

With that in mind, let’s see how the Flames stack up.

THE FLAMES (26)

Currently: 33-40-7 for 73 points with 2 games remaining (against Vancouver and Minnesota)

Points Ceiling: 77

Regulation/Overtime Wins: 31

Goal Differential: -34

EDMONTON (30)

Currently: 30-43-7 for 67 points with 2 games remaining (against Vancouver, twice)

Points Ceiling: 71, which is fewer points than Calgary currently has.

The Flames cannot be caught by Edmonton and cannot finish 30th.

TORONTO (29)

Currently: 28-40-11 for 67 points with 3 games remaining (against Columbus, Philadelphia and New Jersey)

Points Ceiling: 73, so tie-breakers would come into effect with Calgary.

Regulation/Overtime Wins: 22 (could be as high as 25 if they win out), Calgary would definitely win this tie-breaker.

The Flames cannot be caught by Toronto and cannot finish 29th.

COLUMBUS (28)

Currently: 31-40-8 for 70 points with 3 games remaining (against Toronto, Buffalo and Chicago)

Points Ceiling: 76

Regulation/Overtime Wins: 25 (could be as high as 28 if they win out), Calgary would definitely win this tie-breaker.

The Flames could be caught by Columbus, but would finish ahead of them if they tie in points based on the ROW tiebreaker.

VANCOUVER (26)

Currently: 30-36-13 for 73 points with 3 games remaining (against Calgary, Edmonton and Edmonton)

Points Ceiling: 79

Regulation/Overtime Wins: 26 (could be as high as 29 if they win out), Calgary would definitely win this tie-breaker

The Flames could be caught by Vancouver, but would finish ahead of them if they tie in points based on the ROW tiebreaker.

WINNIPEG (25)

Currently: 33-39-8 for 74 points with 2 games remaining (against San Jose and Los Angeles)

Points Ceiling: 78

Regulation/Overtime Wins: 31 (could be as high as 33 if they win out). This could be a tie between the two clubs.

Head-to-Head Points: This is a tie, as both teams won once (when you drop off the extra home date the Flames had).

Goal Differential: -26, which is better than Calgary’s and wins the tie-breaker. (This number may change.)

The Flames could be caught by Winnipeg and could finish behind them based on various tie-breakers if they have the same point total.

ARIZONA (24)

Currently: 35-38-7 for 77 points with 2 games remaining (against Nashville and San Jose)

Points Ceiling: 81

Regulation/Overtime Wins: 34, Flames would lose the tie-breaker.

The Flames cannot catch the Coyotes and cannot finish 24th.

SUM IT UP

The Flames are currently in 26th place. They can rise as high as 25th overall or fall as far as 28th overall, depending on how the final few days of the regular season go for them (and the teams around them).