The Los Angeles Kings lost to the Arizona Coyotes last night. The shootout loss dropped the Calgary Flames’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot to nine, meaning any combination of nine Flames wins or Kings losses would result in the Flames cementing a post-season berth.
With relatively few games remaining for both clubs, the rapidly diminishing magic number seems to beg a very specific question: When will the Flames clinch a playoff spot?
A HANDY TABLE
Here’s a quick table plotting out the remaining games for Calgary and Los Angeles. The main underlying assumption presented in the table?