Sunday’s game between the Calgary Flames and the San Jose Sharks represents the start of the stretch drive a Flames club that’s within reach of a playoff spot when many in the hockey world felt they would be in the draft lottery mix instead.
Starting with Sunday, there are 12 days and seven games between the Flames and their next benchmark: the trade deadline for the 2024-25 season, which falls on Fri., Mar. 7 at 1 p.m. MT.
Here’s a quick look at how things are looking for the Flames as their seven game sprint begins.

A standings snapshot

Heading into Sunday’s games, the Flames have 27 games remaining and have a record of 26-21-8 for 60 points. They sit three points behind the Vancouver Canucks (26-19-11) for the final Western Conference wildcard spot, with the Canucks having played one more game than the Flames.

The next dozen days

Here’s what the Flames and the Canucks have on the docket between now and the trade deadline:
  • Feb. 23 (Sun.): Flames vs. Sharks, Canucks at Utah HC
  • Feb. 24 (Mon.): no games
  • Feb. 25 (Tue.): Flames at Capitals
  • Feb. 26 (Wed.): Canucks at Kings
  • Feb. 27 (Thu.): Flames at Lightning, Canucks at Ducks
  • Feb. 28 (Fri.): no games
  • Mar. 1 (Sat.): Flames at Panthers, Canucks at Kraken
  • Mar. 2 (Sun.): Flames at Hurricanes
  • Mar. 3 (Mon.): no games
  • Mar. 4 (Tue.): Flames at Flyers
  • Mar. 5 (Wed.): Canucks vs. Ducks
  • Mar. 6 (Thu.): Flames at Stars
(The Canucks host the Wild the evening of Mar. 7, following the trade deadline.)
All-in-all, the Flames played seven games before the trade deadline, while the Canucks play five. Each team plays just a single home game between now and then, though.

Quotable

Speaking to the media after an optional morning skate on Sunday, Flames forward Ryan Lomberg expressed his excitement for the stretch drive.
“This is what you play for, right?” said Lomberg. “We’ve played all year to put ourselves in a position where we’re pushing for a spot and now we’re here 27 games out. So we’re all looking forward to the opportunity of making the playoffs.”
It goes without saying, but yeah, the Flames are aware of how big the next seven games could be for their playoff hopes. They seem excited to take on the challenge.
“I guess if you lose all seven, you’re probably going to be out,” said Jonathan Huberdeau on Sunday morning. “So, yeah, it is [big]. I think we want to win. We’ve got to go one game at a time. We want to get these two points, and I think we just focus on tonight and after we can go to that road trip. Tonight we just, you know, we come out with a win, and then it’s going to set us off on a road trip.”
“It’s a big one for us,” added Lomberg. “It’s make or break. So we’re looking forward to the opportunity of playing some of the league’s top teams and then proving to ourselves and the rest of the league that we’re going to push for that spot.”
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