At 45-19-9, 99 points and a Pacific-leading +77 goal differential, the Flames have earned the opportunity to clinch early.
Nine dates remain on the docket, including four against a potential first-round opponent.
The Vegas Golden Knights - who've been crushed by injuries but are getting healthier, now, and are three points back of a playoff spot - are first up tonight at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
While the Flames don't have to win this game (or even push it overtime), the players don't want to leave this box unchecked any longer than it has to.
"Anytime you're playing a playoff team - a team that's going to be in the playoffs or has a chance to be - it's going to have that intensity and that same feel as a playoff game," said back-to-back defending Cup champ Blake Coleman. "Sometimes, when you're playing teams that are maybe mathematically not into it, they're a little bit looser and it's a little bit different style of game.
"As a team that we would likely have to get through to find the ultimate goal here, you always want to have a good showing against those teams, so I think tonight is going to be another intense game and you want to be on the right side of it."
Coleman, who's reached the aforementioned "ultimate goal" in each of the past two years, knows the importance of that first step.
It's crucial the team feels good about itself.
Confident.
Upbeat and positive about the direction they're heading when the dance kicks off.
As Sutter noted at Wednesday's practice, it's arguably harder to make the 16-team bracket than to win it all during an all-out, eight-week sprint.
After all, the Flames could top the 100-point plateau as a team here tonight. Their winning percentage, currently, is .678 - sixth-best, overall, and second only to the Colorado Avalanche in the West.
But in the playoffs?
A 16-12 record is enough to hoist Lord Stanley.
In other words, the Flames aren't taking this moment for granted. What they've done, the opinions they've changed, and the respect they've earned along the way this year is no small feat.
"It's a big accomplishment," Coleman said. "There was a lot of uncertainty with this team coming into the year and to get where you want to go, that's the first thing you need to do and it's not lost on us what a big deal it is to make the playoffs.
"There are 16 teams that don't make the playoffs. It's a big step for us, (but) it's a stepping-stone that we need to get where we want to go, but the sooner we can clinch that and feel good about our position, the better."
Whether it happens tonight or sometime over the next few days, the Flames will be well-positioned to make noise.
While we often hear about the benefits of playing those meaningful games - 'playoff hockey,' as it were - down the stretch and right through to the finish, the Flames will have the luxury of dialling in their game, resting bodies if they need to, and tailoring the system to best counter their opponent.
It's a great spot to be in.
"It's a slippery slope," Coleman acknowledged. "You don't want to be a team that clinches early and takes the foot off the gas and isn't playing the right way going into the playoffs.
"While we have the opportunity to clinch with a few games left in the season here, we're still fighting for home ice - there are still things to play for that are important for our group going into the playoffs. I expect the intensity to go up for us. The hope would be the last couple games of the year aren't meaningful in that sense, and maybe if guys need a breather or whatever, that's obviously on the coaches to figure out with those players.
"But for the most part, you want to be hitting the playoffs at full stride, and feel really good about our group and our team. We have eight or nine games left here to get to that point, so we'll handle it the right way."
