Busy week ahead for Sea Dogs

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs will try and end a three-game losing streak on Thursday – but it certainly won't be easy.

The Sea Dogs will visit a Moncton Wildcats team that is coming off a three-game sweep in Quebec, which included a 3-2 win over the top-ranked Chicoutimi Sagueneens on Saturday. The Wildcats have won four straight heading into their mid-week meeting with the Sea Dogs.

Game time on Thursday is 7 p.m. at Avenir Centre.

The Sea Dogs are 1-4-0-0 against the Wildcats this season with that one win coming back in October.

Saint John will travel to Charlottetown on Saturday to face the Islanders at 7 p.m. The Islanders are coming off a weekend split in Cape Breton, a series that saw star forward Ivan Ryabkin and No. 1 goaltender Donald Hickey on the sidelines with injuries.

The Sea Dogs have played at Eastlink Centre twice this season and lost both games in overtime.

Sunday will be a big one for Saint John when they take on the last-place Baie-Comeau Drakkar at 3 p.m. at the Aitken Centre. Both teams need all the points they can get with the Sea Dogs trying to inch their way above the playoff bubble and the Drakkar looking to get back into the race.

The top-16 teams in the QMJHL's overall standings make the playoffs. The Sea Dogs currently sit 16th.

If the playoffs started today, the Sea Dogs would move over to the Western Conference and face the Drummondville Voltiguers in the first-round.

The Sea Dogs have a number of big games coming up that involve teams surrounding them in the standings. They'll face the Drakkar on Sunday, Victoriaville on Feb. 16 and Gatineau on Feb. 22.