The Calgary Flames had their destiny in their own hands for a short minute.
With the end of the season just weeks away, the Flames have just six games remaining this season, while the teams they are chasing have fewer games remaining. Admittedly, it’s becoming a three-team race for the final Wild Card spot.
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 from last Thursday until Saturday.
Let’s dig in!

Flames pick up three of a possible four points

The Calgary Flames have played two games since the last wild card recap, defeating the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 and falling to the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 in overtime.
Starting with the first game, it took just 16 seconds for the Flames to open the scoring, as Nazem Kadri scored his 31st of the season. Olen Zellweger scored the only goal for the Ducks, but the Flames took over in the second period as Blake Coleman scored midway through the middle frame, followed by Kevin Rooney’s goal with just under five minutes left. Coleman added his second early in the third. With the win, destiny returned to the Flames’ hands.
Thursday’s game was a brief rest from the norm. That is falling down by a goal or two and crawling back, something the Flames have done a ton in recent times, which also includes Saturday’s game. Pavel Dorofeyev scored late in the first period and Reilly Smith scored midway through the second period as the Golden Knights jumped out to a 2-0 lead.
However, the Flames crawled back with Joel Hanley scoring with just eight seconds left in the second period. Matt Coronato scored 43 seconds into the third period to send the game to overtime. In the final third seconds, a bad bounce went off Dustin Wolf and in, with the Flames picking up a point.
The Flames hit the road on Monday, as they head to California to take on the San Jose Sharks in a must-win game. They’ll also have a rematch against the Ducks on Wednesday in what is another must-win game, as is their Friday game against the Wild.
As for their strength of schedule, the Flames have three hard games (Wild, Knights, and Los Angeles Kings) and three “easy” games (Sharks twice, Ducks) left. It’s the fifth easiest schedule remaining, and it’s worth noting the games against the Knights and Kings are at the end of the season, when they may be resting their players.

Canucks snap two-game losing streak

The Vancouver Canucks have played one game since the last wild card recap, as they pummelled the Anaheim Ducks 6-2.
It was actually the Ducks who opened the scoring, as Troy Terry scored 1:21 into the game, but it was all the Canucks from there. From 10:20 left in the first period until 5:50, the Canucks scored five goals to take a 5-1 lead. Early in the second, the Ducks added their second goal, before Max Sasson scored just over five minutes into the third period for the Canucks.
Up next for the Canucks is a match-up with the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday, as well as a matchup against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday. It’s a really tough schedule for the Canucks, as on top of those two games, they face the Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild, and the Golden Knights again. They have the fourth-hardest strength of schedule remaining.

Blues think it’s 2019

The St. Louis Blues win streak has now hit 12 games thanks to a 5-4 overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins and a 5-4 win over the Colorado Avalanche.
In the first period, Bryan Rust opened the scoring for the Penguins, but the Blues won the second period outscoring the Penguins 3-1 to take a 3-2 lead into the third. They extended their lead to 4-2 with just over 14 minutes left, but the Penguins fought back with goals from Rickard Rakell and Rutger McGroarty, who scored the first of his career. Robert Thomas ended it in overtime.
Against the Avalanche, the Blues scored their first four goals in the first 29 minutes of action, but the Avalanche scored three times to crawl back into the game. Thomas scored an empty-netter for the 5-3 lead, which is good for them that he did as Sam Malinski scored with nine seconds left in the game for the Avalanche, who fell 5-4.
Up next for the Blues is a match-up against the Winnipeg Jets in Manitoba on Monday. They’ll also face the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. Realistically, the Flames won’t catch up to the Blues as they have 93 points to the Flames’ 83 points.

Wild slipping

Still, the final wild card is up for grabs as the Minnesota Wild have been slipping in recent times. Their most recent game on Friday saw them fall 3-1 to the New York Islanders.
Early in the second period, Mats Zuccarello scored the lone Wild goal, but that lasted 36 seconds before Casey Cizikas scored to tie the game. Simon Holmström scored less than two minutes later for the game-winning goal, with Noah Dobson scoring the insurance goal early in the third period for the 3-1 win.
Next up for the Wild is a match-up against the Dallas Stars on Sunday, their last “tough” game remaining. They’ll host the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday, before back-to-back road games against the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks. Their destiny remains in their hand.

How the standings look

Holding onto the first wild card spot are the St. Louis Blues, who have a 43-28-7 record with 93 points. The Minnesota Wild are able to catch up to them, but the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks probably can’t.
In the second Wild Card spot are the Minnesota Wild, who have a 41-29-7 record with 89 points and 77 games played. The Flames can match the Wild by winning their game in hand and defeating them in their upcoming match-up, but they need help from other teams.
The Canucks are one of those teams that could help the Flames if they are able to defeat the Wild this coming Saturday. They have a 35-28-13 record with 83 points.
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