We’re into the final week of the 2024-25 regular season, gang, and the Calgary Flames (38-27-14, 90 points) are still alive in the post-season hunt. They continue their quest to reel in a wild card spot on Sunday evening when they host the San Jose Sharks (20-48-11, 51 points), the NHL’s last-place team. The Sharks are young and scrappy, but this is a game that the Flames simply need to win to keep hope alive.

Today’s broadcast begins at 6 p.m. MT on Sportsnet One, Pacific and Sportsnet 960 The Fan. There’s also an animated presentation of the game on Sportsnet 360, entitled “Harvey’s Mountain Classic,” that should be pretty fun.

Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:

Jonathan Huberdeau – Nazem Kadri – Adam Klapka
Blake Coleman – Mikael Backlund – Matt Coronato
Yegor Sharangovich – Morgan Frost – Joel Farabee
Ryan Lomberg – Kevin Rooney – Martin Pospisil

Kevin Bahl – Rasmus Andersson
Joel Hanley – MacKenzie Weegar
Jake Bean – Brayden Pachal

We’re projecting Dustin Wolf to start in net, backed up by Dan Vladar. The projected extras look to be Daniil Miromanov, Zayne Parekh, Dryden Hunt and Aydar Suniev.

Improbably, based on the off-season projections, betting markets, and that one guy in your office who seems to always win the hockey pool, the Flames remain alive in the playoff hunt. They are currently on the outside looking in, and they need some help, but they’re a team that’s been battling and playing playoff hockey since January or February and seem perfectly happy playing low-scoring, tight-checking games.

Four Flames have double-digit points since the 4 Nations Face-Off: Nazem Kadri (22 points), Jonathan Huberdeau (18), MacKenzie Weegar (14 points) and Matt Coronato (13 points). At the most important time of year, the team has gotten crucial offensive contributions from three key veterans and a youngster in his first full NHL season. (Oh, and both of their goalies, who have been consistently good and occasionally great.)

Projected lines via Daily Faceoff:

Nikolai Kovalenko – Macklin Celebrini – Will Smith
William Eklund – Alex Wennberg – Tyler Toffoli
Noah Gregor – Ty Dellandrea – Barclay Goodrow
Carl Grundstrom – Zack Ostapchuk – Thomas Bordeleau

Henry Thrun – Timothy Liljegren
Lucas Carlsson – Jan Rutta
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Jack Thompson

We’re projecting Georgi Romanov to start in net, backed up by Alexandar Georgiev. They don’t have any healthy extras.

The Sharks are in last place. They’re six points behind 31st-place Chicago. They’re probably going to finish dead-last and then get another really good young player in the 2025 NHL Draft – they need an ace blueliner, so we’re looking at you, Matthew Schaefer. The Sharks are still in the asset accumulation phase. They’re a fun team to watch right now. They could be good and fun in a few years.

They’re playing loose and having fun right now, so they shouldn’t be underestimated.

The Flames are without Anthony Mantha, Justin Kirkland and Connor Zary.

The Sharks are without Logan Couture, Mario Ferraro, Vincent Desharnais, Shakir Mukhamadullin, Klim Kostin and Cameron Lund.

This is the fourth and final meeting between these teams this season. The Flames have won all three: 3-1, 3-2 and 3-2.