Flames complete almost perfect road trip, but time's not on their side

The Calgary Flames took care of business during their recent three-game road trip, but it might be too little, too late when it comes to climbing into a playoff spot.

Over the course of a short Eastern Conference jaunt that wrapped Friday in Ottawa, Calgary took five out of a possible six points, with wins in Buffalo and against the Senators coming on the heels of an overtime loss to Pittsburgh.

As a result, Calgary sits a single point behind Los Angeles in the race for the Western Conference's second wild-card spot.

The Flames, however, are the only team to have already played 69 games, two more than the Kings and Colorado Avalanche, both of whom rest directly above in the standings.

Calgary, then, has a league-low 13 games remaining with at least two teams to jump over in order to clinch a spot. It's a tall order, but the recent success has the Flames feeling more confident.