Calgary Flames' draft lottery odds heading into regular-season finale

For those on Team Tank, a loss of any sort to the LA Kings on Thursday night would be fantastic news for the Calgary Flames.

It’s been evident for some time that the Flames weren’t going to finish below the Vancouver Canucks in league standings this season, resulting in a good chunk of the fan base simply hoping to finish in the bottom three. As it turns out, they may get their wish.

Thanks to a New York Rangers victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday, they pulled ahead of the Flames with 77 points. The Flames do hold a tiebreaker between the two, meaning that a win over the Kings on Thursday would see them finish the season ahead of the Rangers.

NHL.com

Picking up one or no points versus the Kings on Thursday would ensure that the Flames finish the season in 30th place.

Finishing 30th in the standings would give the Flames a 30.5 per cent chance to land a top three pick, something they’ve never had in franchise history. They would also have an 11.5 per cent chance of selecting first overall. The lowest they could possibly draft would be fifth.

Tankathon

If the Flames were to pick up two points versus the Kings, their chances of selecting first overall would drop to 9.5 per cent, while their odds of drafting in the top three would 19.3 per cent. The lowest they would be able to draft in that position would be sixth overall, the same spot where they landed Matthew Tkachuk back in 2016.

Should the Flames land the first-overall selection, the general consensus is that they will take Penn State winger Gavin McKenna. That said, there are several other top-tier talents available in this class including Swedish forward Ivar Stenberg and Canadian defenceman Keaton Verhoeff.

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