The Calgary Flames were watching Saturday night’s out-of-town scoreboard hoping that the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild would both lose in regulation.

That didn’t happen, but the Flames remain alive in the playoff race. For now.

On Saturday night, the Blues lost in a shootout to Seattle (gaining a point) and the Wild beat Vancouver in overtime (gaining two points).

Here’s how things look in the standings as Sunday begins: (GR: games remaining, RW: regulation wins, ROW: regulation/overtime wins)

Yes.

But the Wild have clinched the tiebreaker on the Flames, so Calgary needs to finish with more points than Minnesota. So the Flames must win all three games – regulation or overtime/shootout doesn’t matter – and the Wild cannot get any points out of Tuesday night’s regular season finale with Anaheim.

If the Flames fail to win any of their remaining games OR the Wild get any points out of Tuesday’s meeting with Anaheim, the Flames cannot catch them and the Wild will clinch a playoff spot.

Yes, and there are a few scenarios where it could happen.

If the Blues lose in regulation to Utah on Tuesday (and finish with 94 points), the Flames would need to finish with 95 or 96 points to pass them. That means two wins and a overtime/shootout loss or three wins (of any kind).

If the Blues get a point against Utah (and finish with 95 points), the Flames would need to finish with 96 points to pass them. That would need three wins (of any kind).

If the Blues get an overtime/shootout win against Utah (and finish with 96 points, but only 31 regulation wins), then the Flames could finish with 96 points and win via tiebreakers, but only if they get three regulation wins. Both teams would finish with 96 points, but the Flames would have the first tiebreaker (32 regulation wins, compared to St. Louis’ 31).

If the Blues get a regulation win against Utah (and finish with 96 points and 32 regulation wins), then it’s impossible for the Flames to pass them because they wouldn’t win the first tiebreaker. If the two teams tie at 96 points and 32 regulation wins, St. Louis would win the second tiebreaker (regulation and overtime wins) 40 to 37.

The good news for the Flames is they have three games remaining… against divisional opponents… who can do nothing to improve their placement in the standings.

On Sunday, the Flames host San Jose. The Sharks are eliminated from post-season contention and are likely going to finish in last place overall.

On Tuesday, the Flames host Vegas. The Golden Knights clinched their fourth consecutive division crown on Saturday, and they’re locked into facing the better of the two Western Conference wild card teams in the first round.

On Thursday, the Flames visit Los Angeles. The Kings are four points ahead of their first round opponent, Edmonton, and will likely have home ice locked up for that series by the time they face the Flames for Game 82.

In other words, friends: the Flames’ three remaining games are very important for them, but carry virtually zero standings importance for their opponents. Heck, Vegas and Los Angeles will likely be resting regulars in an effort to avoid unwanted injuries prior to their post-seasons beginning next weekend.