The Calgary Flames are the team to beat in the Western Conference.
The Flames locked up their first division title since winning the Northwest Division in 2006 with a 5-3 win over the Sharks on Sunday night. The win also secured Calgary first place in the Western Conference for the first time since the 1989-90 season.
"It's a good accomplishment for our organization and for our players," head coach Bill Peters told reporters after the win. "I thought our players really dug in about a dozen games into the season and we found a level of consistency that allowed us to get to this spot."
FIRST IN THE WEST, CLINCHED! pic.twitter.com/4rRublOD7j
— z - Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) April 1, 2019
After allowing the first goal of the game to Timo Meier, the Flames netted three goals in 75 seconds to end the first period with a 3-1 lead. The goals were delivered by Sean Monahan, Mark Jankowski and Dalton Prout for his first of the season.
Calgary didn't look back, adding another goal in the second period off the stick of Mikael Backlund and one in the third period from Michael Frolik.
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The win increased the Flames' point total on the season to 105, which ties the 1987-88 team for the second most in franchise history. The 1988-89 team finished its season with 117 points and with just three games remaining in 2019 that record will last for at least one more year.
The Flames return to the playoffs after taking a year off in 2018. They were the West's first wild card in 2017 and were swept by the Ducks in the first round.
Monahan said winning the conference is a major accomplishment for the team.
"It's huge," Monahan said postgame. "I've been here a long time now and I mean it's tough enough to make it to the playoffs so to do what we did is pretty special."
.@NHLFlames beat San Jose 5-3 to earn their first Western Conference title in 29 years (89/90) and first division title since 05/06. Now up to 105 points, tied for 2nd best in franchise history. #Flames pic.twitter.com/MHHW7KZf4f
— Brendan Parker (@BParkerTV) April 1, 2019
Calgary last reached the Stanley Cup final in 2004 when the Flames fell to the Lightning in seven games. The team's lone Stanley Cup victory came in 1989 with a win over Montreal in six games.
The standings currently have Calgary meeting the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the playoffs, but with the Coyotes just one point behind Colorado for the second wild-card spot nothing is close to being final.