It’s looking more and more like the U.S. Division race is going to come down to the final week of the regular season.
The Seattle Thunderbirds, picked as the preseason favorite by most of those who pick such things, have trailed the Everett Silvertips in the standings since the dawn of 2016.
Everett’s 3-1 victory over the defending Western Hockey League champion Kelowna Rockets on New Year’s Day marked the last time the division lead changed hands, though the Tips’ advantage in the standings dwindled to just three points following their 2-0 loss to Seattle on Saturday.
Both the Tips and T-Birds won on Sunday, meaning nothing changed in the standings. Mathew Barzal scored the game-winner for Seattle on Sunday after scoring both goals in Seattle’s victory on Saturday. The New York Islanders first-round pick continues to haunt the Tips even when he isn’t facing them. Barzal also scored the game-winner in Seattle’s 3-2 overtime win over Everett in Kent on Jan. 9.
The biggest thorn in the Thunderbirds’ side, of course, has been the Silvertips. Everett holds a 6-1-1 record against the T-Birds this season. That is a 13-4 discrepancy in points, and makes Friday’s matchup at Xfinity Arena of paramount importance for Seattle.
If the season ended today
This isn’t really a fair comparison because teams haven’t played the same number of games, but if the season did, in fact, end today, the Silvertips would be the U.S. Division champions and would play the Kamloops Blazers in the first round of the playoffs. Second-place Seattle would play third-place Portland, with the Everett-Kamloops winner facing the Seattle-Portland winner in the second round.
In the other bracket, the B.C. Division champion — either the Kelowna Rockets or the Victoria Royals — would play the Spokane Chiefs, while the second-place team would take on the third-place Prince George Cougars. Victoria moved back into the top spot by a point with its 6-1 win over Edmonton on Monday, but the Rockets have two games in hand.
Last-place Vancouver is on the verge of mathematical elimination. The Giants not only lost their top player and projected first-round NHL draft pick Tyler Benson for the season, but they’re 14 points out of the final playoff slot. And with Vancouver having just eight more games, the most points the Giants could pick up is 16.
The Tri-City Americans have made a recent push to climb back into contention, but still trail the Spokane Chiefs for the final playoff spot by four points.
Playoff berths being secured
Six of the eight playoff spots in the Eastern Conference are already clinched. Lethbridge, Brandon, Red Deer, Calgary, Prince Albert and Moose Jaw all have secured berths.
In the West, only Kelowna and Victoria have locked up spots. The Silvertips moved a step closer to clinching a berth Sunday with their win over Tri-City. Everett’s magic number of points to secure a postseason berth is down to six.
Whistle ruled out for the year
Kelowna, which already lost star forward Nick Merkley to season-ending ACL surgery, announced Monday that goalie Jackson Whistle needs labrum surgery on both hips and is done for the year.
Whistle had missed 25 games since his last appearance, Dec. 30 against Everett. The 20-year-old finished his WHL career with 87 wins, a .912 save percentage and a 2.59 goals against average.
Wong, Bow honored by league
Lethbridge Hurricanes forward Tyler Wong was named the WHL Player of the Week, and Seattle goaltender Landon Bow was the league’s nominee for CHL Goaltender of the Week.
Wong had three goals and seven assists as the Hurricanes posted a 1-1-0-1 record last week. Bow was 2-0 with a 1.00 goals against average and a .962 save percentage.
For the latest Silvertips news follow Jesse Geleynse on Twitter @jessegeleynse.
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