Flames gear up for final playoff push: 'We're going to need every point we can get'

CALGARY - Every win, loss and overtime point is magnified for the Calgary Flames.

With 13 games remaining in their regular season, including seven at home, the Flames are in a fight to the finish for an NHL playoff spot.

Calgary (33-25-11) are one point back of St. Louis and have three games in hand on the Blues, who hold down the Western Conference's final wild-card berth. The Flames are also just a point back of the Vancouver Canucks with two games in hand on them.

"From the looks of it, we're going to need every point we can get," said Flames forward Blake Coleman.

The Flames felt good about themselves Monday after winning three straight on a four-game road trip, and capping it with a come-from-behind 4-3 overtime victory over the New York Islanders.

"The line between the way you got to play right now and the way you've got to play game one of the playoffs, there is not any difference in my opinion," said Coleman, who lifted back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021.

"We know how important every point is and every game is and guys are willing to put themselves in front of shots and do what it takes.

"You've got to pay a price this time of year. And if you want to be a playoff team and do well in playoffs, that's kind of hockey you got to play, so we're just getting an extra dose this time around."

Calgary hosts the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday and the Dallas Stars on Thursday before Saturday's clash with the provincial-rival Oilers in Edmonton.

"We've still got to catch a team in front of us, so got to get some points," said Flames left-winger Jonathan Huberdeau, whose equalizing goal Saturday on Long Island was his team-leading 27th.

Some good news Monday for Calgary was captain Mikael Backlund seemed close to a return to the lineup after sitting out five straight games with an upper-body injury.

The Swedish centre didn't travel with the club on its recent road swing.

Backlund participated fully in Monday's practice, but head coach Ryan Huska said how Backlund's body felt after that workout would determine whether the captain plays Tuesday against the Kraken.

"We're missing our captain, our leader in the room and on the ice, the guy that works so hard, so it's not easy to not have him in the lineup," Huberdeau said. "When we have him back, it's going to be awesome."

Defenceman Mackenzie Weegar, who was scratched from Saturday's game against the Isles with a lower-body injury, remains day-to-day, Huska said. 

Forward Joel Farabee was a full practice participant Monday after sitting out Saturday's game with illness.

So the Flames, who have gone 7-4-3 since the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, continue to push for a post-season return after two straight years outside the playoffs.

Calgary made a rare second-round playoff appearance in 2022 with a roster the barely resembles the current edition.

Belief inside the dressing room and little outside of it was the theme to start this season for a reworked, younger Flames, who have stayed playoff relevant and ranked as high as second in the Pacific Division in November.

Huska says the poise of veterans Backlund, Coleman, Weegar, Huberdeau, defenceman Rasmus Andersson and forwards Nazem Kadri and Ryan Lomberg has gone a long way to instil belief in a low-scoring team that it can beat any other team in the league.

The tenacious and resilient Flames manage to win games despite a penalty kill ranked 27th in the NHL, a faceoff percentage ranked 30th and a lack of first-period goals.

Only eight other NHL clubs Monday had a better save percentage than the combined .900 of Calgary's Dustin Wolf and Dan Vladar.

"In certain games, the style that we've played all year long, we've been in a lot of close games, and it just doesn't seem to phase our group," Huska said.

"The team has a really good understanding of how we need to play to have success, and that's the other important thing for me. When you have goaltending that's giving you a chance to win, when you have a team that understands their identity or what they have to look like, and there is a belief that they can play a certain style, then that gives the coaching staff a lot of belief that they'll be able to get the job done."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 24, 2025.