It was a historic night in the NHL as for the first time ever all 32 teams were playing on the same day. Of course fans of the Jets, Flames and Predators only cared about two of the games that were being played being the Jets/Preds in Winnipeg and Flames/Canucks in Vancouver.
The Jets took care of business in tidy fashion dispatching the Predators by a final score of 2-0 in front of a raucous crowd in the ‘Peg. Had the Predators won their playoff chances would have jumped to mid 60% but with the loss they dropped to 2.5% according to the folks at Moneypuck.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
The Flames on the other hand continued to do what they’ve done for the last 10 days which is come from behind to seize a win or loser point, which is actually rather remarkable because for most of the season that wasn’t a hallmark of this club. Last night they, once again, found themselves down 2-0 in the 3rd period and managed to force the game to extra time. It was a wild OT but they ultimately fell in a shootout. Moneypuck has their odds at 18.9%.
This leaves the current standing as follows:
Jets: 91 points (3 games left vs Sharks, Wild, Avs)
Flames: 90 points (2 games left vs Preds, Sharks)
Preds: 88 points (3 games left vs Flames, Wild, Avs).
It is worth noting that the Jets hold the tiebreaker over both the Flames and Preds so those team literally have to finish one point ahead of the Jets. They cannot tie them and get in.
Winnipeg requires just three points in their final three games in order to clinch the final wild card spot in the Western Conference. Of course there are scenarios where they could do so with less points but the above allows them to “control their own destiny”. The folks at Moneypuck have their odds as of today at 78.7%.
It should be a fun Monday as the Jets host the Sharks (who only seem to beat Winnipeg) while the Flames host the Predators. A Jets win and a regulation loss by either Calgary or Nashville will see one of those teams eliminated.
Be sure you join us after the Winnipeg and San Jose game on the Illegal Curve Post-Game Show.
