Elliotte Friedman spotlights key question that could determine Calgary Flames' playoff chance

Can the Calgary Flames make the playoffs? The wild card spots in the Western Conference are entirely up in the air as no one has yet clinched them, and Calgary is still in the running.

It will ultimately come down to the final game on Thursday, a makeup game resulting from the LA fires. With everyone else already done, that may become a bit of a do-or-die scenario.

Before the Flames get to that potentially all-important outing on Thursday, they play the Vegas Golden Knights. A loss there would be detrimental to their chances.

On Monday, Elliotte Freidman discussed Vegas' potential lineup against Calgary on the "32 Thoughts" podcast (6:17)

"One of the biggest questions is going to be for Vegas, what lineup do they have on Tuesday? Because if you go back to their Pacific Division clinching win over the Predators, where they won five to three, that lineup did not include Jack Eichel, that lineup did not include Alex Pietrangelo, that lineup did not include Nick Hague, and that lineup did not include Victor Olofsson."

While praising the Golden Knights's roster, Friedman added that they're still formidable even if they rest players which makes things challenging for the Flames:

“That's not to say the Golden Knights aren't formidable without them because they're still a really good team and they play as a unit. But you know, if you're Calgary and you don't see some of those, maybe you know what you say.”

Things get easier for the Calgary Flames if the Golden Knights or Kings rest players. However, they still have to pass the Minnesota Wild (ahead by three points) and/or the St. Louis Blues (two points up) to nab that wild card.

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Playoff scenarios for the Calgary Flames

The Minnesota Wild owns the tiebreaker over the Calgary Flames, so the Flames would need to win out and hope the Wild do not record more than one point in the remaining days of the season to pass them for the top wild card.

The Calgary Flames need some help in the race to the playoff. (Credits: IMAGN)

It's much easier to envision them passing the St. Louis Blues, who are two points ahead and don't have the tiebreaker. Calgary would need to win both games and have the Blues earn no more than two points.

Ultimately, the Flames need to win three games and get some help because they can't pass the two teams ahead of them unless they lose some games while Calgary wins.