Things could be going better

SAINT JOHN - It's hard not to be a bit pessimistic about the Saint John Sea Dogs' fortunes following the past week of hockey.

The Sea Dogs are arguably having their worst stretch of play all season, losing four straight games and being outscored 26-8 in the process. Almost nothing has gone well for the Dogs since a solid 5-4 home win over the Cape Breton Eagles on Feb. 29 - which, at the time, gave hope that the Dogs may end the year on a high note.

But that win over the Eagles has certainly been forgotten. The Sea Dogs have been a disaster on defense during this four-game skid and the offense, which has bailed the team out on a number of nights this year, has struggled.

The Sea Dogs are averaging 4.35 goals against per game and 39.55 shots against per game - both are a league high. As previously mentioned, the Sea Dogs' shots on goal average was around mid- to lower-pack of the league for most of the year, meaning it was unlikely that the Dogs would sustain 3.5 to 4 goals per game - something we are starting to see recently.

All of this is to say - the Sea Dogs' playoff position is still very much up in the air. The team sits sixth in the Eastern Conference and, with four games remaining, have 61 points, placing them two points ahead of both the Baie-Comeau Drakkar and the Quebec Remparts. The top eight teams in the conference will make the playoffs (unless Halifax pulls off a minor miracle down the stretch).

Saint John's schedule isn't easy the rest of the way, but it's... perhaps the easiest of the three teams? Here's a look:

• Saint John: at Bathurst, at Moncton, vs Cape Breton, vs Cape Breton
• Baie-Comeau: at Chicoutimi, vs Victoriaville, vs Chicoutimi, at Rimouski, at Rimouski
• Quebec: vs Rimouski, vs Sherbrooke, at Chicoutimi, vs Chicoutimi

So... it may be more of a crawl to the finish line in the Eastern Conference.

It's worth noting as well that the Sea Dogs own the Drakkar's first round pick in this year's QMJHL Entry Draft. The Drakkar currently sit 13th overall, just one spot out of the draft lottery. Given Saint John's past history in the lottery, this could be huge for the franchise moving forward.