Tonight's the night

Big games tonight with big playoff positioning implications....more on that in a bit.

The way I look at it, there's five distinct races going on right now:

1) Spokane vs. Tri-City for #1 and #3 seeds in the West. Vancouver is solidly in the #2 seed and won't move either up or down. Huge head-to-head meeting between Chiefs & Ams tomorrow night.

2) Seattle, Kelowna, and Everett for seeds #4 - #6 in the West. Seattle holds a big 3-point lead for #4 spot but all three teams can still finish in any of the three positions depending on how the weekend goes.

3) Chilliwack vs. Kamloops for seeds #7 & #8 in the West. One of them is playing Vancouver in the first round and the other one is playing the Spokane/Tri-City winner. It's like asking if you want the electric chair or the firing squad.

4) Calgary, Regina, Kootenay, Lethbridge, and Medicine Hat for seeds #1 - #5 in the East. The Tigers cannot finish higher than #3, the Pats cannot finish lower than #2, and the Hitmen cannot finish lower than #4. Otherwise, everyone can still finish everywhere. Yes, that's right: Kootenay and Lethbridge can be anywhere from #1 in the conference to being #5 and opening the playoffs on the road. With three days left in the season it's still that wide open for them. Crazy.

5) Brandon, Swift Current, and Moose Jaw for seeds #6 - #8 in the East. Mathematically, Brandon can still get the #5 seed as well, if they win their last two games and Medicine Hat loses their last two in regulation. But I think they're more likely in this race.

Tonight's games with significance to these races:

1) Kamloops @ Chilliwack. If Kamloops wants the #7 spot, they must win tonight, in regulation. Simple as that. If they don't, then this race is 99.9% over.....the one prayer the Blazers would have left is to win their last two games (Vancouver & Prince George) and hope the Bruins lost their last two (Everett & Vancouver) in regulation.

2) Portland @ Spokane. Spokane wants to win this one to provide some insurance in case they lose the Saturday head-to-head meeting with the Ams.

3) Kelowna @ Tri-City. For the Ams, almost a must-win since if they lose, they can only get first place if Portland also beats Spokane in one of those two teams' two meetings. Do you want to bet the first-overall trophy on Portland beating anyone? Neither do the Americans.

This game is also critical to Kelowna; they must win if they want any shot at the #4 seed. As it is, they can only get #4 by winning both their remaining games, having Seattle lose both their remaining games (in regulation), and having Everett lose to Chilliwack on Saturday. That's slim chances there for #4 anyway, but the game is also very important to win if they want to land in #5 and thus avoid Spokane/Tri-City in the first round - the fate which befalls the #6 team.

4) Brandon @ Regina. Regina needs a win to keep alive their chances of finishing #1. Without a win, they can't. For Brandon, obviously they need to win in order to have any chance at the #5 spot.

5) Swift Current @ Moose Jaw. If the Warriors lose, they will almost certainly finish #8. A win for the Broncos makes them look better and better for #6. Without knowing who is #1 - #3 though, it's hard to say whether being #6 or #7 or #8 is better or worse.

6) Medicine Hat @ Lethbridge. A big one here for both teams. For the Tigers, a regulation loss ends their chances of finishing #3, and they'd need help to finish #4. So basically: win or start the playoffs on the road. For the Hurricanes, it's even bigger: lose in regulation and they can be no higher than #3. A reminder: this game is on Shaw in Canada.

7) Seattle @ Everett. A win for Seattle gives them the #4 spot, period. There is no scenario where a Seattle win tonight (or Sunday) - in regulation, OT, or SO - does not give them #4. So, they can take it easy on Saturday and Sunday, rest some key players if they win tonight. So for Everett, obviously their hopes of opening the playoffs at home rest on them winning tonight.

One other note about tonight's action: no playoff implications in either, but Edmonton and Prince Albert will both play their final home games of the season tonight. Last chance for fans of those teams to see some players who won't be back next year, etc.