With a record of 6–3–1 in their last ten games, the Flames have rebounded from their porous start. However, in the bigger picture, they moved from 32nd in the league by points percentage to 31st. And the tougher climbs are still coming. The Flames look ahead at the most difficult remaining schedule in the NHL. Parity has never been more prevalent than it has been in this NHL season, with the majority of teams sitting around the 0.500 mark. Any team can beat another on any given night. Having a tougher schedule doesn’t mean you are going to lose more. But it is more statistically probable.

Average NHL strength of remaining schedule

Two sites that measure the strength of schedule remaining are PowerRankingsGuru.com and Tankathon.com. I have taken the average of both websites to limit the chance of error for one individual site. The teams have been ranked by their average score given by both websites. The higher the rank, the more difficult a team’s remaining schedule is. Enter, the Calgary Flames.

RankTeam NamePowerRankingsGuru.comTankathon.comAverage1Calgary Flames211.51Detroit Red Wings121.5T-3Buffalo Sabres756T-3Toronto Maple Leafs486T-3Montreal Canadiens3966Winnipeg Jets1036.5T-7Columbus Blue Jackets877.5T-7Philadelphia Flyers5107.59St. Louis Blues124810Pittsburgh Penguins6118.5T-11Utah Mammoth15610.5T-11Ottawa Senators91210.513New York Rangers111412.514Florida Panthers141313.5T-15Minnesota Wild171516T-15Chicago Blackhawks16161617Vancouver Canucks181717.518Seattle Kraken1323181919Washington Capitals20202020Carolina Hurricanes192220.521Nashville Predators24182122Dallas Stars23212223Edmonton Oilers261922.524Boston Bruins22242325New Jersey Devils212824.526LA Kings252625.527Tampa Bay Lightning282526.528Colorado Avalanche272727T-29Vegas Golden Knights322930.5T-29San Jose Sharks313030.5T-29Anaheim Ducks303130.5T-29New York Islanders293230.5

An uphill battle for Calgary

According to Tankathon, the Flames will face teams at a 0.594 clip for the remainder of the season, which is higher than the 0.585 that Detroit will play. For comparison’s sake, the Boston Bruins sit at a 0.594 points percentage right now, so, on average, the Flames will play the Bruins for the remainder of the year. PowerRankingsGuru uses a weighted scale based on their power rankings (the Flames rank a little bit higher than they do in other weighted rankings because of their recent hot streak, for example), which is why the Flames feature in second on their rankings. Whichever model you look at, the Flames have it tough for the remainder of the year.

The Flames face the Ducks four times, the Avalanche three times, and the Stars, Golden Knights, and Capitals two times each. Their easiest matchups are the Sabres, Canucks, and Blues once each. Their schedule isn’t too bad until the Olympic break in February, but March and April look daunting. Pairing that alongside the likely departure of a veteran or two off the roster, this Flames team will definitely be tested.

A look at teams fighting for the bottom of the standings

The Sabres, Jets, and Blues are also in for a tough road ahead as they find themselves in the bottom ten in the consolidated rankings. The Canucks rank in the middle of the pack, while the Predators find themselves in the latter half of the rankings, suggesting they might jump up a bit in the standings.

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