There are just three teams in the Western Conference who haven’t clinched their berth to the 2025 post-season, nor have been eliminated from contention.
The Calgary Flames just so happen to be one of those teams, as do the St. Louis Blues and the Minnesota Wild. After Wednesday’s slate of games, the Vancouver Canucks have officially been eliminated from the post-season, which is a far cry from finishing at the top of the Pacific Division last season. Still, they could end up playing a big role in deciding who makes the post-season.
This is the wild card recap. We’ll look at three teams, the Flames, Blues, and Wild. We’ll look at their games from Wednesday until Friday, as well as what the Flames will have to do to make the post-season (spoiler: they need help).
Let’s dig in!

Blues falter late against the Oilers

Starting with the St. Louis Blues, their only game in the past three days was against the Edmonton Oilers, facing Connor McDavid and a bunch of depth players. Defenceman Ryan Suter opened the scoring in the first period, but the Oilers answered back with two goals in the second to put them up 2-1.
It took just 14 seconds into the third period for the Blues to find the game-tying goal thanks to Jordan Kyrou, but Viktor Arvidsson scored about a minute and a half later to restore the Oilers’ lead. Once again, the Blues had a response, as Pavel Buchnevich scored to tie the game at three. With just 21 seconds remaining in the game, Connor McDavid got out of the box and set up Connor Brown for his second of the game to give the Oilers a 4-3 win.
Cheering for the Oilers is never great, but they did the Flames a solid here by avoiding overtime. The Blues have just two games remaining in the season, an away game against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday and a home game against the Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday.

Wild play a barn-burner against Sharks

If I did a goal-by-goal recap of the Minnesota Wild and San Jose Sharks game on Wednesday, this article would go from a three-to-four-minute read to a 10-minute read.
The Sharks always seem to play entertaining hockey, even if it means going down 7-4 in the third period, just to storm back and force the game into overtime thanks to Will Smith’s last-minute goal.
Just like the Dallas Stars game on Sunday, the Wild managed to pick up the two points as the returning Kirill Kaprizov scored the OT winner just a minute into the extra frame.
Next up for the Wild was a date with the Calgary Flames on Friday, but let’s take a look at what the Flames were up to on Wednesday first.

Flames blow a lead against the Ducks

The Flames had an overtime loss of leeway, and they used it almost immediately in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday.
Things started off well for them, as captain Mikael Backlund opened the scoring with just over five minutes left in the second period. Midway through the third period, Trevor Zegras tied the game, but Yegor Sharangovich and Matt Coronato answered back to give the Flames a 3-1 lead.
Then, disaster struck as Frank Vatrano and Cutter Gauthier scored back-to-back goals with under four minutes left, just eight seconds apart. Gauthier added a second in overtime, meaning the Flames received just one point when they should’ve had two.
With the Minnesota Wild winning on Wednesday, the Flames’ overtime loss didn’t change much in the grand scheme of things. Coming into the game, they still needed to beat the Wild on Friday and needed either the Wild or Blues to lose against other opposition. The only difference is that the loss now has to come in regulation.
Speaking of Friday’s match-up against the Wild and Flames, how’d that go?

The Flames and Wild showdown

Simply put, Friday was a must-win game. Had the Calgary Flames lost to the Minnesota Wild, they’d essentially be done, barring winning out the rest of their season, while the Wild and St. Louis Blues lost out on their season.
Thankfully, the Flames won. Late in the first, captain Mikael Backlund opened the scoring, which was followed by Yegor Sharangovich’s deflection goal five minutes into the second period. Nazem Kadri added an insurance goal less than two minutes later, and Ryan Lomberg scored a breakaway goal to put the Flames up 4-0.
They needed it as well, as the Wild scored two of their own with under five minutes left in the game, but ultimately fell 4-2.
Next up for the Wild is a game on Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks at 8:00 p.m. MT. If the Wild are going to lose, it seems as if it’ll be this one as their last game is against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. As for the Flames, they’ll have a home match-up against the San Jose Sharks on Sunday, remaining at home against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday. Their last game will be played on Apr. 17 against the Los Angeles Kings.

How the standings look

Both the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues have a 43-30-7 record with 93 points, with the Wild’s 33 regulation wins boosting them ahead of the Blues. Each team has played 80 games with two left. The Wild face the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday and the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday, while the Blues face the Seattle Kraken on Saturday and the Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday.
As for the Flames, they’re the only team on the outside-looking-in who have yet to be eliminated from post-season contention. They have a 38-27-14 record with 90 points, three fewer than the two teams they’re chasing, but with a game in hand.
To put it simply, they need help from the Canucks, Kraken, Hockey Club, and Ducks if they wish to make the post-season. On top of the Flames needing to win out the rest of their three games, they need the Wild to lose at least one of their last two games.
The Blues’ situation is a little different, though, as the Flames can still catch them in the first tiebreaker (regulation wins). If the Blues finish with 96 points, which would be a 1-0-1 record in their next two games, as long as the Flames win their remaining three games in regulation and the Blues win that hypothetical game in overtime, the Flames would get the tiebreaker.
This race is going to come down to the wire, we’ll see how the standings look on Monday.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
Sponsored by bet365: