While the Colorado Avalanche remain the undisputed kings of the Western Conference and, probably, all of the NHL, there has been a caveat to that lately.

Many observers would say something along the lines of, “Sure, the Avs are great, but I wouldn’t want to play the Calgary Flames at any point in the playoffs, either.” And that got even more true after the Tyler Toffoli and Calle Järnkrok trades that gave the Flames’ forward depth much of what it lacked.

Through the trade deadline, Calgary had just 16 regulation losses, had outscored opponents by 64 goals, and were among the most dominant possession teams in the league. But it’s become harder to ignore that, since the deadline, they seem to be slowing down a bit.

They’re just 2-3-1 in that stretch, but there have been signs of wobble since ev