Thanks to victories on consecutive nights, the Kamloops Blazers are the first B.C. Division team to clinch a playoff spot. 5-3 wins over the Red Deer Rebels and Victoria Royals allowed the Blazers to join the Everett Silvertips and Portland Winterhawks as the lone Western Conference teams to guarantee a spot in the post-season thus far. You can find a recap of Friday’s game here while Saturday’s is right here.
Compared to last season’s finish that included a winner-takes-all tie-breaker with the Kelowna Rockets just to sneak in, the Blazers are provided with some breathing room with 14 games remaining on the schedule. If all goes according to plan, the Blazers will don the B.C. Division crown for the first time since the 2011-2012 season.
With that said, the nine-point lead in the standings is not in concrete and nine of the 14 games remaining come against B.C. opponents who will be looking to gain ground. Today’s game against Victoria is the final matchup in the season series and as of right now, the Royals have a 4-3 advantage.
A glance at the standings would have your average WHL fan giddy at the prospect of the potential matchups, a seasoned fan would be salivating. Among the marquee events would be a rematch of last year’s tie-breaker with Kelowna in a best-of-seven series. If you’ve been following the season series thus far, you’re probably well aware of the fireworks between the two teams. If you haven’t, you’ve got some catching up to do.
If the final stretch of the season deviates from its current course, the likeliest scenario is a Kamloops vs Seattle matchup in round one. As of right now, the Thunderbirds sit three points back of Kelowna for the first Wildcard playoff spot but face a difficult schedule down the stretch.
Meanwhile, the Rockets should be benefitting from the return of multiple key players after injuries have been an unfortunate theme in 2019-2020. Kamloops won three of four games against Seattle this season and leads the Okanagan series 7-1. Barring a massive streak, the home-and-home series between Kelowna and Kamloops in mid-March should provide a much clearer picture of the playoff seedings.
Vancouver and Victoria, meanwhile, will look to catch up to the first-place Blazers. Thanks to a 9-0-1-0 streak, the Giants have nearly drawn level with the Royals who, like the Rockets, are dealing with a cluster of injuries. The Giants sit two points back of the Royals with one game in hand. When asked about the prospect of Vancouver taking their spot in the standings, Royals’ head coach Dan Price offered an optimistic perspective on his team’s approach.
“It’s really about taking a forward-thinking mentality. So, we’ve got three more games against Vancouver which will be great, it’s a three-in-three so very valuable points there but also, Kamloops is really good. Of course, they’re going to play well down the stretch, I’m sure, but they’re also within striking distance. So we’re more taking that approach of pursuit, trying to get as close to them as we can and who knows, maybe we can pass them as opposed to trying to hold off Vancouver.”
Price’s words may sound brash, but even a relatively healthy Royals squad could be a nightmarish matchup for any team in the first round.
Until that moment, B.C.’s top-four teams will be jockeying for position while Taylor Gauthier and the Prince George Cougars will try to take a healthy bite out of the opposition.
