Flames record down the stretch

[kn]

Toronto definitely has last place locked up.

The last thing this team needs is a meaningless run like 10-4-2 which does absolutely nothing but hurt this team in the long term. We need a top five (preferably top three) pick.

I can live with falling to six if the lottery fails us but to end up 24th by a winning streak at the end of the year will make me sick.

[Corral]

Cheering for 16 - 0. In a scenario where the Flames make the playoffs by beating the Wild on April 9 in their building with Backstrom in net to just pass the Wild for the final wildcard spot in the West - and then go on to face the Ducks in the first round and win that series in 7 on the road.

Draft picks - whatever. We have enough young talent here now to build a contender with additional spare parts once the goaltender is found.

[FiveSeven]

I honestly don't give a ####. I'm not sure why people care what people think on the situation..
I want them to lose because I'm more excited about a potentially drafting an amazing player that can help us win games.
I don't want them to win absolutely pointless games and end up drafting someone not as good.

Honestly it comes down to wanting a brighter future and better players, nothing more.
You know damn well they're going to keep playing and trying to win regardless of our opinions.

I'm with the wanting to draft a better play group.
I hope they lose every game except against Edmonton and Vancouver.
If that's a bad thing, I don't care. Not like my opinion would stay the same next season, barring a repeat.

[GranteedEV]

16-0+Win Matthews would be pretty epic. If I have to choose one, it's whatever recors gets us into the spot fated to win Matthews. He's a 6'2" Gaudreau level talent. Worth a lot more than a silly late run.

[Bingo]

Personally I just can't wait to run 6 more games off the schedule. Playing out the string working hard but losing seems fine with single digit games left on the schedule but is painful with a quarter of the season.

Light is suddenly at the end of the tunnel, and the lottery show on TSN probably only 5 weeks away.

[Geeoff]

Flames are playing well lately. I bet they have a winning record down the stretch

[saillias]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Personally I just can't wait to run 6 more games off the schedule. Playing out the string working hard but losing seems fine with single digit games left on the schedule but is painful with a quarter of the season.

Same. This has played out 3 times in the last 4 years.

Oh great, we're in the convo for a top 3 pick but will probably end up with a 4th-6th overall talent instead. But that's cool because we have guts and play out the stretch with heart yayyyyyyyy

[Hackey]

I'd like to see them play well. Young guys have strong finishes. Give some more young players opportunity. Keep the games close. I want the best prospect we can get though which means finishing as low as possible. I don't think we have the talent to be a contender yet. We are missing talent at forward, defense, and definitely in net. Forward is probably our biggest weakness besides goal but I think goal is easier to address in terms of assets. Those three 2nds could be the currency we need to make something happen. To get a top end forward to play with Bennett that gives us two strong scoring lines is most easily solved with a top 3 pick. These wins at the end of the season are meaningless to me.

[Five-hole]

Barring a miraculous run (please god no), what teams do we have a realistic chance of catching?

17 PHILADELPHIA 65 31 23 11 29 73
18 MINNESOTA 67 31 26 10 30 72
19 CAROLINA 67 30 26 11 29 71
20 OTTAWA 68 31 29 8 25 70
21 NEW JERSEY 67 31 29 7 29 69
22 MONTREAL 67 31 30 6 26 68
23 VANCOUVER 66 26 28 12 22 64
24 COLUMBUS 67 28 31 8 23 64
25 ARIZONA 67 28 32 7 27 63
26 BUFFALO 68 27 32 9 25 63
27 CALGARY 67 28 34 5 26 61
28 WINNIPEG 66 27 34 5 25 59
29 EDMONTON 69 26 36 7 22 59
30 TORONTO 66 22 33 11 16 55


We can't "catch" Toronto for last, I don't think.

As for teams ahead of us, you'd have to hope Columbus, Vancouver, and Montreal will stay ahead of us. I see no chance of catching NJ, Ottawa, Carolina, Philly, or Minny.

The real jostling will come between Winnipeg, Edmonton, Buffalo, Arizona, and us. In short, I see us finishing somewhere between 2nd last and 6th last, potentially drafting as low as 9th overall. I see the bottom five shaking out as, in order:

Toronto
Winnipeg
Edmonton
Arizona
Calgary

[polak]

Lose every game except the BOA and have Johnny score hat tricks every night.

That's what I want.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by codynw

2-14 please.

Losing against Edmonton and Vancouver is unacceptable.

This. This is fine with me.

The losses can all be of the 2-1, 3-2 variety with Gaudreau tallies and that'd be just swell.

[DJones]

With how the have been playing lately I wouldn't be surprised if they have a winning record.

[1qqaaz]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

I absolutely have no cares as to what the record is down the stretch. Just don't embarrass yourself out there and compete hard every night. Start building good habits for next year. It's never too early to start playing the right way.

Honestly, I don't really care if they are not working hard every night. I would much rather have a high draft position. Which of these two options is better:

A) Tank pathetically for 16 games, and get Matthews or the Finns. It's 16 games. Not 10 years.

b) Compete hard, go 10-6 and pick 8th. First line forwards are rarely picked 8th.

The best case scenario would be to try hard and go 2-14 (beat Van and Edm), but getting a top pick has to be the top priority.

Having Laine on the top line will have a much larger impact than having a bad culture for a few weeks.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by Corral

Cheering for 16 - 0. In a scenario where the Flames make the playoffs by beating the Wild on April 9 in their building with Backstrom in net to just pass the Wild for the final wildcard spot in the West - and then go on to face the Ducks in the first round and win that series in 7 on the road.

Draft picks - whatever. We have enough young talent here now to build a contender with additional spare parts once the goaltender is found.

Wow. Your belief far surpasses mine, and I thought I was full of foolish hope to say a month ago they could pull it off. Props.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Flames win vs the Preds!

Big reverse standings games for tonight, Thursday, March 10

MTL vs BUF
DET vs WPG
MIN vs EDM

Sportsclubstats record percentages with 15 games left

7-7-1: 16% to be 6th last, 35% to be 5th last, 33% to be 4th last, 12% to be 3rd last
6-8-1: 12% to be 5th last, 35% to be 4th last, 38% to be 3rd last, 12% to be 2nd last
5-9-1: 11% to be 4th last, 39% to be 3rd last, 38% to be 2nd last, 10% to be last

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by DJones

With how the have been playing lately I wouldn't be surprised if they have a winning record.

It bothers me that teams in the hunt coming in play like they're expecting an easy two points too... flashes of early last season. It may spell disaster for our lottery chances.

How does EDM do it, my god... They truly are the biggest bunch of losers to play out the stretch without even a flicker of pride each year.

[Canuck-Hater]

I think finishing 27th or 28th is ideal. With the new draft lottery odds finishing 30th isn't necessarily a good thing.

[troutman]

The most likely finish for CGY in the West is 12th:

http://www.sportsclubstats.com/NHL.html

This site does not calculate overall standings combining both conferences.

Actually it does- found it:

http://www.sportsclubstats.com/NHLlottery.html

Most likely seed is 27th. Predicted average seed is 26.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Canuck-Hater

I think finishing 27th or 28th is ideal. With the new draft lottery odds finishing 30th isn't necessarily a good thing.

? With the new odds finishing 30th still gives you the best odds and you are guaranteed to draft top 4. Finishing 27th or 28th you could draft 5th or 6th.

Highly doubt the Leafs can pass us so it's pretty irrelevant

[Enoch Root]

Flames have been playing better of late but weren't being rewarded.

Now they're on a lengthy home-stand.

I expect they are going to go on a bit of a tear. And I expect a lot of fans are going to lose their minds over it.

However, I think it's important to remember that there is more to the Flames' future than a single draft pick...

• Ortio's growth is a good thing.
• Bennett playing centre really well is a good thing.
• Backlund playing better is a good thing.
• The emergence of Nakladal and Wotherspoon are good things.
• The surprisingly solid and consistent play of Jokipakka is a good thing.
• The emergence of Hathaway is a good thing.

It takes a lot of players to make a good team and the development of these guys helps the organization.