There are only 6 weeks left in the NHL regular season, the 2 Alberta teams are fighting for bragging rights as the best and worst teams in the province.
While Winnipeg, Arizona and Vancouver may have something to say about who finishes where, the odds on favourites to win the Toilet Bowl both reside in Alberta.
So, what’s likely to happen here?
Obviously, Calgary, with 3 games in hand, has the advantage but there are a couple of other factors to look at.
The Oilers final 15 games are all against the Western Conference. They have a 17-14-1 record against the East but are a paltry 8-21-6 against the West.
The Flames have 3 games left against the EC including winnable games against Montreal and Toronto and also have the “advantage” of owning a 13-20-2 record against the WC so, if things stay true to form, the Flames SHOULD be able to pull away from the Oilers down the stretch.
However, if momentum counts for anything, the Flames (1-8-1) appear to be stumbling badly with Kari Ramo out of the lineup while the Oilers (3-6-1) have been able to pick up a few more points in the last 1o games.
One other thing that may come into play here is the additions the Oilers have made to beef up the team for the stretch as they try to become a heavier team to compete in the West.
Zack Kassian and Patrick Maroon give the team a different edge but it remains to be seen how much impact they can have when the Oilers play the big boys in the Pacific Division.
The Oilers have 7 games remaining against teams currently in a playoff position while the Flames have 10 which, if they turn into losses, wipes out their advantage in games in hand.
The Oilers final 3 games of the season are against the Flames and 2 against the Canucks.
I would imagine those 3 games will be critical to how all this plays out.
Dead Cat Bouncing 
This should read The Bumbling of the West as your home town Canucks at 60 Points are only two points clear of Calgary and three points clear of Edmonton with games in hand on both teams.
And to make matters worse for fans on the Left Coast, the Canucks don’t appear to have the young talent that the Flames and Oilers both have. In fact, the Canucks best young player appears to be Bo Horvat who has a paltry 27 Points despite playing all 63 games. Horvat also has a league worst -31 plus/minus rating. At 27 Points Horvat is behind 5 young Oiler forwards (Hall, Draisitl, Eberle, McDavid, and Nuge), and 4 young Flame forwards (Gaudrea, Monahan, Backlund, and Bennett).
If you’re looking for bumbling I suggest you cast your eye a little closer to home my friend.
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“The Flames have 3 games left against the EC including winnable games against Montreal and Toronto and also have the “advantage” of owning a 13-20-2 record against the WC so, if things stay true to form, the Flames SHOULD be able to pull away from the Oilers down the stretch.
However, if momentum counts for anything, the Flames (1-8-1) appear to be stumbling badly with Kari Ramo out of the lineup while the Oilers (3-6-1) have been able to pick up a few more points in the last 1o games.”
Take it from an Oiler fan………It doesnt matter what line up you ice, how great your offensive players are, or how good your defense is.
If your starting goalie is sporting a 890 SV% your team is fucked.
1) TO
2) Flames
3) Jets
4) Van
5) Oilers
Thats how she plays out.
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