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Wild face Flames with Northwest Division title in sights

Apr 3, 2008 - 4:24 PM Calgary (41-29-10) at Minnesota (43-28-9) 8:00 pm EDT

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (Ticker) - For the Minnesota Wild, the playoff scenario is simple.

The Wild try to clinch the Northwest Division and the third seed in the Western Conference playoffs when they face the Calgary Flames on Thursday.

Minnesota (43-28-9) currently owns third place in the West by virtue of its two-point lead in the Northwest.

However, the Wild can lock up that playoff spot if they can forge a win against the Flames (41-29-10), who are in third place in the division with 92 points - one point behind the Colorado Avalanche (43-31-7).

Minnesota moved within one victory of their first Northwest Division title by completing a three-game win streak with a crucial 3-2 overtime victory against the Avalanche on Sunday.

The Flames enter Thursday's contest in seventh place in the West and need one point to book a place in the postseason.

Calgary snapped a brief two-game losing streak on Tuesday with a 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. Owen Nolan scored the game-winning goal with 3:44 left to play in the third period, eliminating Edmonton from playoff contention.