Coming into the 2025/26 NHL season, the Calgary Flames were expected to struggle, and for the most part, they've been one of the worst teams in the league, with the front office seemingly accepting that a rebuild for the future is the way to go. For much of the season, the Flames were sitting in the bottom two in the league, but with some relative success since the trade deadline, they've climbed in the standings.
Now, both the New York Rangers and Calgary Flames have just one game to play, and the results could change the lottery odds significantly for both organizations. As of right now, both teams sit at 75 points on the season, with the Rangers battling the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night.
That sets up a simple scenario: if the Rangers get a point in that game, a Flames loss on Thursday could see them fall to 30th in the league and the third best lottery odds, but if they don't, the Flames are officially locked into 29th, meaning their result against the Los Angeles Kings doesn't mean anything.
Canucks locked in at 32.
— Ryan Pike (@RyanNPike) April 15, 2026
Blackhawks locked in at 31.
Flames have tiebreaker on Rangers (RegW), so Rangers need to have more points to finish ahead of Flames. pic.twitter.com/TEu3oQuGwF
Simply put, right now, the Flames cannot pick lower than 6th overall in the upcoming draft, and whether they finish with the third or the fourth best odds at winning the lottery all rests on the shoulders of the New York Rangers on Tuesday. Depending on this, the Flames may or may not be playing for massive stakes on Thursday night, but regardless of results, they will have no less than the fourth best odds heading into the draft lottery given that the Maple Leafs find themselves three points ahead of the Flames.
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