With three days remaining in the 2025-26 National Hockey League regular season, the Calgary Flames cannot finish last in the overall standings and maximize their draft lottery odds. Nor can they finish second-last.

Beyond that, a lot is up in the air and will be determined by the Flames’ final two games – Tuesday against Colorado and Thursday against Los Angeles – and what happens in the final outings for the NY Rangers, Toronto and Seattle.

Here’s what you need to know before the final 72 hours of the season.

Here’s how things look at the bottom of the standings heading into Tuesday’s games:

The Canucks have 56 points with two games remaining. They would max out at 60 points. They are locked into 32nd place overall and are guaranteed to have the best draft lottery odds.

The Blackhawks have 70 points with two games remaining. They would max out at 74 points. They are locked into 31st place overall and are guaranteed to have the second-best draft lottery odds.

The Rangers have 75 points with one game remaining. They would max out at 77 points. The Flames have two more regulation wins than the Rangers do, so if they finish the season with the same amount of points, the Flames would finish ahead of them.

In other words: the Rangers will be locked into 30th overall if they lose in regulation against Tampa Bay on Wednesday or if the Flames earn any points at all against Colorado on Tuesday or Los Angeles on Thursday. Simply put: unless the Rangers earn more points against the Lightning than the Flames do against the Avalanche and Kings, the Rangers will finish 30th overall.

The Flames have 75 points with two games remaining. They would max out at 79 points. They could finish as high as 27th overall and as low as 30th overall.

There are two teams the Flames could possibly pass in the standings: Toronto and Seattle.

The Maple Leafs have 78 points with one game left, but the Flames have three more regulations wins than they do. If the Flames earn three points and Toronto zero, or if the Flames earn four points and Toronto one, the Flames would pass Toronto in the standings. Conversely, if the Flames simply lose one of their two remaining games, they won’t be able to catch Toronto.

The Kraken have 79 points with two games left, but the Flames have three more regulation and overtime wins than they do (they’re tied in regulation wins). If the Flames win both of their remaining games and Seattle earns zero points from their two remaining games, the Flames would pass Seattle in the standings. Conversely, if the Flames fail to win both of their remaining games, they won’t be able to catch Seattle.

If the Flames earn zero points, with 75 points they would finish 29th (unless the Rangers earn a point or more against Tampa Bay, in which case they would finish 30th).

If the Flames earn one point, with 76 points they would finish 29th (unless the Rangers win against Tampa Bay, in which case they would finish 30th).

If the Flames earn two points, with 77 points they would finish 29th no matter what happened in the Rangers’ last game.

If the Flames earn three points, with 78 points they would pass Toronto only if the Leafs lose out in regulation.

If the Flames earn four points, with 79 points they would pass Seattle only if the Kraken lose out in regulation.