Here's a look at the remaining schedules for every team in the league, broken down by home and away games:
Brandon (11):
Home (5): Swift Current, Edmonton, Swift Current, Prince Albert, Moose Jaw
Away (6): Saskatoon, Swift Current, Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Regina, Moose Jaw
Calgary (12):
Home (7): Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Swift Current, Lethbridge, Red Deer, Medicine Hat, Kootenay
Away (5): Kootenay, Medicine Hat, Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Kootenay
Edmonton (11):
Home (2): Saskatoon, Red Deer
Away (9): Spokane, Tri-City, Seattle, Portland, Everett, Regina, Brandon, Moose Jaw, Red Deer
Everett (12):
Home (5): Spokane, Edmonton, Portland, Victoria, Tri-City
Away (7): Tri-City, Seattle, Vancouver, Portland, Spokane, Seattle, Victoria
Kamloops (11):
Home (6): Vancouver, Vancouver, Kelowna, Victoria, Kelowna, Prince George
Away (5): Vancouver, Spokane, Prince George, Kelowna, Prince George
Kelowna (11):
Home (6): Seattle, Lethbridge, Victoria, Kamloops, Prince George, Vancouver
Away (5): Victoria, Victoria, Kamloops, Kamloops, Vancouver
Kootenay (12):
Home (5): Calgary, Red Deer, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Calgary
Away (7): Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Red Deer, Tri-City, Spokane, Lethbridge, Calgary
Lethbridge (12):
Home (5): Red Deer, Kootenay, Red Deer, Kootenay, Medicine Hat
Away (7): Victoria, Vancouver, Kelowna, Red Deer, Calgary, Kootenay, Medicine Hat
Medicine Hat (11):
Home (5): Swift Current, Red Deer, Kootenay, Calgary, Lethbridge
Away (6): Swift Current, Kootenay, Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Calgary, Lethbridge
Moose Jaw (12):
Home (9): Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Regina, Saskatoon, Swift Current, Edmonton, Regina, Brandon
Away (3): Regina, Swift Current, Brandon
Portland (11):
Home (4): Edmonton, Everett, Seattle, Spokane
Away (7): Prince George, Prince George, Tri-City, Everett, Victoria, Victoria, Seattle
Prince Albert (12):
Home (6): Regina, Brandon, Calgary, Medicine Hat, Saskatoon, Saskatoon
Away (6): Calgary, Red Deer, Moose Jaw, Swift Current, Regina, Brandon
Prince George (12):
Home (6): Portland, Portland, Kamloops, Tri-City, Tri-City, Kamloops
Away (6): Seattle, Tri-City, Vancouver, Spokane, Kelowna, Kamloops
Red Deer (12):
Home (6): Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Swift Current, Kootenay, Lethbridge, Edmonton
Away (6): Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Kootenay, Lethbridge, Calgary, Edmonton
Regina (11):
Home (5): Moose Jaw, Brandon, Edmonton, Prince Albert, Swift Current
Away (6): Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Swift Current
Saskatoon (12):
Home (5): Brandon, Brandon, Calgary, Medicine Hat, Regina
Away (7): Moose Jaw, Red Deer, Calgary, Moose Jaw, Edmonton, Prince Albert, Prince Albert
Seattle (12):
Home (7): Everett, Edmonton, Tri-City, Prince George, Everett, Tri-City, Portland
Away (5): Vancouver, Kelowna, Tri-City, Spokane, Portland
Spokane (12):
Home (7): Edmonton, Kamloops, Seattle, Everett, Kootenay, Prince George, Tri-City
Away (5): Everett, Victoria, Victoria, Tri-City, Portland
Swift Current (12):
Home (5): Medicine Hat, Brandon, Prince Albert, Moose Jaw, Regina
Away (7): Medicine Hat, Brandon, Calgary, Red Deer, Moose Jaw, Brandon, Regina
Tri-City (13):
Home (7): Everett, Edmonton, Portland, Seattle, Kootenay, Prince George, Spokane
Away (6): Seattle, Prince George, Prince George, Seattle, Spokane, Everett
Vancouver (11):
Home (7): Kamloops, Seattle, Lethbridge, Everett, Victoria, Prince George, Kelowna
Away (4): Kamloops, Kamloops, Victoria, Kelowna
Victoria (13):
Home (9): Kelowna, Kelowna, Lethbridge, Spokane, Spokane, Vancouver, Portland, Portland, Everett
Away (4): Kamloops, Kelowna, Vancouver, Everett
And now a team-by-team rundown of what the remainder of the season holds for everyone:
Brandon:
The Wheat Kings are 13 points out of a playoff spot and have only 11 games left to play in the season. The postseason just isn't going to happen. They're playing out the string now.
Calgary:
The Hitmen are kind of on an island in 2nd place in the Central division - 9 points back of Edmonton but 12 points up on Red Deer. Given Edmonton's 9 road games remaining plus Calgary having one game in hand on Edmonton, one wonders if there's a better chance than usual that Calgary can make up those 9 points and catch the Oil Kings for first. Calgary also has to watch out for Saskatoon, closing in behind them quickly at 7 points back and riding a winning streak. Home ice for any potential 2nd round playoff series would go to whichever of the two teams finished with the most points.
Edmonton:
Sitting pretty in first place in the East, 9 points ahead of any competition. Facing a horrendous finale to the season though, with 9 of their last 11 games on the road thanks to the Tim Hortons Brier kicking them out of Northlands Coliseum. First place overall in the league remains in play for the Oil Kings, as they are 10 points back of Portland for that honour, but with the road-heavy schedule it might be unrealistic to think they can do it. They might just want to focus on locking up first in the East....8 wins or Calgary losses will do that.
Everett:
.392, don't have a win in their last 10 games and still holding down a playoff spot. Welcome to the bottom half of the Western conference, a conference where lately every year there seems to be 5 or 6 really good teams and 4 or 5 bad teams. Everett's point total would put them in next-year country if they were in the East, but as it is they're in a 3 way battle with Seattle and Prince George for the last two spots in the West. Not too many easy opponents ahead for the Silvertips though so they need to get this slide ended ASAP if they want to play more than 72 games this year.
Kamloops:
They're not catching Portland for first in the conference - that will be mathematical within a week or less. So the remaining challenges for the Blazers are to catch Kelowna for first in the B.C. division and #2 seed in the conference (currently they are 3 points back of the Rockets) and perhaps catch Edmonton for #2 overall in the league as well - currently they're 6 points back of the Oil Kings. Catching Edmonton would provide for home ice advantage if the Blazers were to meet the Oil Kings in the league final....I mean I doubt anyone in Kamloops is putting an Oil Kings logo with a bullseye up in the dressing room but I'm just covering all the bases here.
Kelowna:
As with Kamloops above, the Rockets are not going to catch Portland for first place in the conference; they're 13 points back and catching Portland would require the Hawks to win only 2 or 3 of their remaining 11 games, so it's not going to happen. Kelowna's focus will/should be on holding off Kamloops for first place in the division and the accompanying #2 seed in the conference. And, as I said for Kamloops, there is some value in catching Edmonton for #2 overall if they can - they're only 3 points back of Edmonton there and the Oil Kings have a road-heavy schedule. It only matters if they meet Edmonton in the WHL Final though.
Kootenay:
Great turnaround story here for the Ice - they were written off for dead early in the season when they were last overall - but they're .711 since the trade deadline and have clawed back into a playoff spot, currently holding down #8 in the East. Yes, they're only one point ahead of #9 but they're also within 3 points of #6, so we have a nice little four-way race for the last three spots.
Lethbridge:
After being as high as 3rd in the conference earlier in the year, the Hurricanes have dropped like a stone over the last 4 to 5 weeks and now find themselves on the outside looking in. At #9 in the East they are only 1 point behind Kootenay for #8 though and only 4 points behind Medicine Hat in #6 so there's still great possibility for a much higher finish than 9th. They do have a tougher schedule than their opponents but there's lots of head-to-head matchups yet too so some well-placed wins down the stretch could get Lethbridge back into a playoff spot and perhaps even a chance to avoid an Edmonton in the first round.
Medicine Hat:
As with Kootenay and Lethbridge above, the Tigers find themselves in the thick of that four-teams-for-three-spots battle which also includes Swift Current. The Tigers are possibly in the best situation of the four teams since (A) they are currently in 6th, 1 to 4 points ahead of the others, plus (B) they play each of the other three teams twice each, which gives them a tremendous amount of control over where they finish. Win all those six games and it probably doesn't matter what they do in their other five. Swift Current has their own advantages too (see below) but winning the head to head games is in the Tigers' hands.
Moose Jaw:
Along with Regina and Brandon, Moose Jaw is one of the three East teams for whom the playoffs are fading from view. They are currently 11 points out of the playoffs and with only 12 games left to play, they probably need to win 8 or 9 of those games to get in. On the bright side for them, they play 9 of their last 12 games at home, which is a boost since they're better at home than on the road. Doesn't change the fact that their odds are long and I don't see it happening, but I do like their chances a lot more than I like Brandon's or Regina's.
Portland:
Portland is really just set to cruise to the finish line, kinda sorta. They have a 13 point lead on their closest challenger in the Western conference, which means that at their current pace they will lock up the conference title within the next week or so. That will leave only the battle for first place overall, in which they have a 10 point lead over Edmonton. And hey, Edmonton pays them a visit next week.....win that four-pointer and the first overall battle might go away too. It's really shaping up like Portland will be able to rest some key guys in the last few games of the season because they will have nothing left to accomplish in the regular season.
Prince Albert:
The Raiders started the year like a house on fire but have dropped back to Earth a bit and now this past week have lost first place in the East division to Saskatoon after leading for the entire year up to this point. The Raiders are likely fighting battles on two fronts down the stretch - one with Saskatoon for first place in the East division and the #2 seed in the first round that comes with it, and if they lose that battle they also need to hold off Red Deer (one point back of them) for 4th place and home ice for what would be a first round playoff battle with the Rebels.
Prince George:
As I said above in Everett's capsule, it's only due to the weakness of the bottom half of the Western conference in general that this .367 Cougars team still has a shot at the playoffs. It's a three horse race between Prince George, Seattle, and Everett and only one of those horses will have to head to the glue factory when it's all over. Cougars are the rear of the bunch right now, 3 points back of Everett who currently hold the last spot. The bad news for the Cougars is they have to play Portland, Kamloops, and Kelowna six times down the stretch....it'll be tough for them to get a lot of points which means they have to hope one of Seattle or Everett struggles even worse.
Red Deer:
The Rebels find themselves somewhat comfortable in 3rd place in the Central division - 12 points back of Calgary so they're probably not going to catch the Hitmen for 2nd, and 7 points up on Medicine Hat so they have a small cushion against falling lower. The main focus for the Rebels will likely be (apart from not getting caught by the Tigers or Broncos in the overall standings) to catch Prince Albert (or Saskatoon, should the Raiders catch the Blades themselves) for the #4 spot and home ice in the first round of the playoffs.
Regina:
11 points back of the playoffs and 11 games remaining....chances are fading fast. They likely need to win at least 8 or 9 of those games to have any chance of the postseason at all, and they play Edmonton, Prince Albert, and Saskatoon four times. Which two or three of those games are they going to win? Chances are slim and none and Slim is loading up the car to leave town.
Saskatoon:
After a disappointing first half of the season, the Blades are an .800 team since the trade deadline and have won 13 in a row. That streak has moved them into first place in the East division and #2 seed in the conference. While first place is likely out of the question, finishing 2nd in the conference would be a successful finish for a team with a Memorial Cup berth locked up before they dropped a single puck this year. The Blades will be looking to hold off Prince Albert (4 points back) for first in the East division and catch the Calgary Hitmen (7 points ahead) for 2nd best record in the conference, which carries home ice should the two teams meet in the 2nd round of the playoffs.
Seattle:
As above with Everett and Prince George, Seattle remains not just in a playoff spot but actually in the #7 seed despite being 20 points worse than the team right above them in 6th. And that #7 spot is something worth having since it means they would get to avoid playing Portland in the first round of the playoffs. And if you're Seattle you probably want to avoid Portland since they've beat you eight times this year - although I'm sure Seattle's front office people would actually welcome a meeting with Portland since if you're going to go out in the first round anyway it might as well be against an opponent you can sell more midweek playoff tickets for, right.
Spokane:
Battling with Tri-City and Victoria for the 4th through 6th place finishes in the West. None of them is likely to move up to 3rd (at least 14 points back, all of them) and none are going to drop below 6th as they have 20-22 point cushions over the 7th place team. It's a three way race with a number of head to head meetings between the three principles, so it should be a good finish here. The winner gets home ice in the first round of the playoffs even....
Swift Current:
The Broncos are the fourth team in that four-team race in the Eastern conference for the 6th/7th/8th/9th playoff spots. They're currently in 7th and have one game in hand on the Tigers, who are one spot above them, so winning that game in hand will put them into 6th. They're also in the very enviable position of playing only three of their last 12 games against the teams in the top five spots in the conference - in other words they play the teams on par or below them a lot, which means there are a lot of points available for the taking if they play well.
Tri-City:
As with Spokane above, the Americans find themselves in a three way battle with Spokane and Victoria for the middle to lower-middle spots in the Western conference standings. The Ams currently sit 4th, with a 1 point lead on Spokane and 2 point lead on the Royals, plus a game in hand on the Chiefs. It could be a scrappy battle down the stretch with the 4th & 5th place teams (the "winners") facing each other in the first round and getting to avoid Kamloops or Kelowna, who will be the 6th place team's (the "loser") opponent.
Vancouver:
15 points out of a playoff spot with 11 games left. It's over. And at 12 points behind the next-worst team in the league, the only thing left to do this year is decide if they're taking Tyler Benson, Kale Clague, or Ned Timothy #1 overall in the bantam draft. (yes, I know there is a draft lottery and they aren't guaranteed the #1)
Victoria:
Engaged in the previously-mentioned three-way battle with Tri-City and Spokane for 4th/5th/6th in the conference. Winner gets home ice advantage against one of the other two in the first round....Spokane and Tri-City would probably dearly love that first round matchup with each other, but Victoria may have something to say about that as they have been playing well lately despite a lengthy road trip. They have a home-heavy schedule remaining now and they have been one of the top 3 or 4 teams in the entire league at home this year. I can see them moving up to 5th or 4th, easily.
