GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Calgary Flames missed the playoffs each of the last five seasons, but that wasn't paramount on GM Brad Treliving's mind when he left his job as the Coyotes' assistant GM to take this job last summer.
"In all candor, I was still trying to get to know everyone and everything about this organization," Treliving said. "The goal is always to make the playoffs, but everybody says that."
Few outside (or inside) Calgary believed it was possible with a team projected to finish near or at the bottom of the Western Conference standings. But with three games left in the regular season, the Flames still cling to third place in the Pacific Division.
The Coyotes have their own issues to iron out this offseason, and there won't be any attention paid to Calgary's playoff hopes when the teams meet Tuesday night in Calgary. But that doesn't stop some within the Coyotes organization from rooting for Treliving.
COYOTES at FLAMES
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta
TV: None
Season series: Flames lead 4-0
Injuries: Arizona -- RW Mikkel Boedker (splenectomy) and C Martin Hanzal (back surgery) are out for the season. F Lauri Korpikoski (mouth) is traveled with the team but is doubtful to play in either game of the two-game trip. Calgary -- D Mark Giordano (torn bicep) and D Ladislav Smid (neck) are out for the season. C Paul Byron (lower body), D Raphael Diaz (lower body and G Kari Ramo (lower body) are day to day.
Quick facts: With Ramo ailing, the Flames recalled G Brad Thiessen from Adirondack of the AHL on Sunday. ... C Jiri Hudler leads the Flames with a career-high 72 points (29 goals). ... F Johnny Gaudreau is tied with Nashville's Flip Forsberg for the league lead in points by a rookie with 61. ... Coyotes F Mikkel Boedker travelled with the team to Canada but won't play again this season. Coach Dave Tippett called the trip "mind therapy" for Boedker, who has been rehabbing since a splenectomy in January.
"He's so well respected, so well liked by everyone here, so sure, yeah, you can root for him," Coyotes captain Shane Doan said. "I think everybody knew he was ready for this opportunity. That's why other teams had asked about him. Good people get noticed."
Calgary is even with the Los Angeles Kings in the Pacific Division but holds the tiebreaker based on more regulation/overtime wins. The teams meet Thursday in Calgary, but Treliving insists the team's predicament isn't adding pressure to its play.
"This is the fun time of the year when you've got a chance, but this final stretch for us isn't any different than what we've been living the last two months," he said. "You can almost spend too much time talking about all the scenarios. We're very cognizant of our situation but you don't want to get to a point where you're paralyzed or frozen because of the stage."
Calgary's against-all-odds story has been well documented this season. The Flames are a possession outlier; one of just two teams in playoff position that is allowing more shots per game than it is generating.
The Flames have benefitted from strong goaltending from Karri Ramo and Jonas Hiller. They got terrific play from their blue line most of the season, veterans Jiri Hudler, Dennis Wideman and Mason Raymond have provided leadership, young players such as Sean Monahan, TJ Brodie and Joe Colborne have progressed and rookie Johnny Gaudreau is in the race for the Calder Trophy.
The Flames haven't been without their challenges, however. As of April 4, they had lost 213 man games to injury and that list includes captain Mark Giordano, who was lost for the season in February with a biceps tear. They've also had more than their share of unusual distractions.
"We've had like eight guys have babies," Treliving said laughing. "We've had twins, guys leave in warm-ups because their wife went into labor (Hudler), guys who got pulled off the bus on a trip to fly back home for the birth. I can't imagine any team has ever had more babies in one season."
Somehow, the Flames have persevered. Calgary has had five road trips of five games or longer this season. They finished above .500 in each one (4-2-0, 3-2-0, 4-1-0, 4-2-1, 3-2-0).
Qualifying for the postseason for the first time since 2009 may require wins in all three remaining games, including that game against the Kings on Thursday and the season finale at Winnipeg on Saturday, but Treliving loves that sort of testing ground for his team.
"If someone had told us in September that the last week of the season would be meaningful, we would have taken it," he said.
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