The long 2025/26 is just hours from ending for the Calgary Flames, as the team are set to take to the SaddleDome one more time in a matchup against the Pacific Division rival Los Angeles Kings. On Wednesday, the team were paying close attention to the New York Rangers, who picked up a key win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, opening the door for the Flames to have some stakes heading into Game No. 82.
Following the Rangers win, they now sit at 77 points on the season, while Calgary have 75, and with the tiebreaker over New York, Calgary needs to secure one or less points against the Kings to lock up 30th overall in the NHL standings. What does the difference between 29th and 30th mean? Sportsnet's Pat Steinberg lays out the percentages here:
With New York’s 4-2 win over Tampa Bay on Wednesday, the door is open for Calgary to now finish 30th overall.
— Pat Steinberg (@Fan960Steinberg) April 16, 2026
Would increase lottery odds by 2.0% (from 9.5% to 11.5%) and ensure the lowest they could drop is fifth overall, as opposed to sixth if they finish 29th. #Flames
While it may not seem like a lot, it increases the Flames chances of landing the No. 1 overall pick from 9.5% to 11.5%, and given how far the New York Islanders jumped to land Matthew Schaefer a year ago, that 2.0% change could make all the difference. On top of that, if the Flames were to pick up 0 or just 1 point against the Kings on Thursday night, the lowest they would fall in the draft would be pick No. 5, securing only their second top-5 pick this century beyond Sam Bennett back in 2015.
Long time Flames fans will come into this one expecting the team to pick up a meaningless victory, and while it's tough to actively cheer against your team, a loss would lock in potentially the highest pick in Flames franchise history. Either way, lottery luck may or may not be on the Flames side, but everything matters, so to have the opportunity to have 2.0% extra odds to win the lottery and bottom out at No. 5 instead of No. 6, it means that the Flames season finale will mean a whole lot.
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