Home Ice...Maybe

It just occurred to me that, if Calgary - currently leading Edmonton 2-1 - and Colorado - currently losing 1-0 to Vancouver, both lose, the Wild clinch the Northwest Division and the third seed in the Western Conference playoff.

Edmonton and Vancouver, by the way, are both desperate for wins to stay in the playoff hunt, so it is likely that at least one will pull out the dubya.

On the other hand, if both Calgary and Colorado were to win, they would still trail the Wild in points; the Avs by two and the Flames by three.

The Wild's last two games? The Flames (here) and the Avs (away).

Worst case scenario: the Wild could clinch with a home win over the Flames on Thursday.

But will they?

UPDATE: It suddenly occurred to me that there could be a tie atop the division at season's end. What then? I thought I'd better find out:

The NHL standings are determined by total points, with the teams ranked in two conferences. If two or more teams are tied in total points, the tie is broken using the following criteria, in order:

Most wins.

Most points in games against each other among the tied teams.

The greater positive differential between goals scored for and against among the tied teams.

Never mind.