The wild card race is heating up.
We’re entering the final two weeks of the season, and the Calgary Flames are going to need to win out and get some help if they wish to make the post-season.
This is the wild card recap. We’ll look at four teams, the Flames, Vancouver Canucks, the Minnesota Wild, and the St. Louis Blues. In this article, we’ll cover games played on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.
Let’s dig in!

Surprise, surprise, Flames came back against the Sharks

The Calgary Flames have just found a way to pull off comeback after comeback. Monday’s was the most recent, as they trailed the San Jose Sharks 1-0 heading into the third period, but Adam Klapka tied it with just under 12 minutes left to go. Under three minutes later, Jonathan Huberdeau scored to take the lead.
With 4:30, Matt Coronato’s 22nd of the season was a massive insurance goal, which the Flames needed as Will Smith scored his second of the game with just under two minutes left. Thankfully, the Flames were able to close out the game.
Next up for the Flames is a matchup with the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday at 8:00 PM. Every game from here on out is “must-win” if they wish to make the post-season.

Canucks fall to Golden Knights, pull off a miracle against the Stars

The only team who’ve played two games since the latest wild card recap are the Vancouver Canucks., falling 3-2 to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday, but pulling of a spectacular comeback against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday.
Nils Höglander opened the scoring, but Ivan Barbashev and Nicolas Roy scored to give the Golden Knights the lead. Midway through the second period, Aatu Räty scored his sixth of the season to tie the game at two. However, Victor Olofsson scored a late goal for the Golden Knights, as the Canucks fell 3-2. Nice.
In the Canucks’ 6-5 overtime win over the Stars, they fell down 3-0 thanks to goals from Mikko Rantanen, Mason Marchment, and Matt Duchene. In the third period, Jake DeBrusk and Victor Mancini scored to cut the lead to 3-2, but the Stars answered back with two goals. In the final minute of the game, the Canucks scored three goals, defeating the Stars in overtime.
Next up for the Canucks is another tough matchup, as they take on the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday at 7:00 PM MT.

Wild defeat the Stars in overtime

The Dallas Stars are awful in overtime, as they also fell 3-2 in overtime to the Minnesota Wild in the Wild’s most recent game.
Jason Robertson opened the scoring for the Stars about six minutes into the game, a lead which they held until the third period. In a span of a minute and 52 seconds, Matt Boldy and Marcus Foligno scored goals for the Wild, giving them a 2-1 lead. 
However, with just under seven minutes left, defenceman Thomas Harley scored for the Stars to tie the game. It wasn’t meant to be, though, as Marco Rossi scored a power play goal less than a minute in overtime, putting the Flames’ destiny into the Wild’s hands.
It’s simple, if the Flames wish to make the post-season, they’ll need to beat the Wild on Friday, but will also need one of the San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks, or Anaheim Ducks to defeat the Wild. Up next for the Wild is a matchup with the Sharks on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. MT.

Blues winning streak has come to an end

The St. Louis Blues are still catchable after their 12-game winning streak was snapped, as they fell 3-1 to the Winnipeg Jets on Monday.Early in the second period, Morgan Barron opened the scoring for the Jets, with Pavel Buchnevich tying the game about five minutes later. That’s all the Blues got, though, as Alex Iafallo scored the game-winning goal just over seven minutes into the third period. Adam Lowry iced the game with an empty net with nine seconds remaining.
Next up for the Blues is a matchup with the Edmonton Oilers, a supposed contender. Well, the Oilers will be without Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Mattias Ekholm, Stuart Skinner, and Trent Frederic for their game on Wednesday evening. It was announced Wednesday evening that Connor McDavid will return to their lineup. That’s good news for them, as Adam Henrique was set to be their first line centre.

How the standings look

That begs the question: how do the standings look? The St. Louis Blues sit in the first wild card with a 43-29-7 record and 93 points. However, they have just three games remaining, one against the Oilers, one against the Seattle Kraken, and one against the Utah Hockey Club. The Calgary Flames would need a lot to go right, but they can still catch up.
They can also catch up to the Minnesota Wild as well, as they have a 42-29-7 record with 91 points, occupying the final wild card. The Flames have a game in hand as well as a game against them on Friday, but the Flames will need help. It’s also worth noting that the Wild are starting to get healthy.
The Flames have a 37-27-13 record with 87 points, four behind the Wild and six behind the Blues. The Vancouver Canucks are still in the race too, as they have 85 points with four games remaining this season.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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