Key stretch of games ahead for Sea Dogs

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - While the Saint John Sea Dogs have already secured a playoff spot, the team's next four games may prove pivotal in determining their playoff positioning.

The Sea Dogs have a tough stretch of games over the next week-and-a-bit, beginning with Wednesday's 7 p.m. home contest with the Gatineau Olympiques. The Olympiques have a huge lead atop the West Division and are battling with the Shawinigan Cataractes for the second seed in the Western Conference.

On Saturday the Sea Dogs host the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in what will be a huge game for both clubs. The Titan currently have a two-point lead (and a game in-hand) on the Sea Dogs for third overall in the Eastern Conference. It remains possible but unlikely that either club will be able to move past the third spot.

The Sea Dogs and Titan meet only one more time in the regular season after Saturday's contest: April 22 at the KC Irving Regional Centre.

The Quebec Remparts visit Saint John on Sunday and then the Sea Dogs travel to Charlottetown to face the Islanders next Thursday. The Remparts and Islanders currently sit tied for first in the Eastern Conference. Quebec has won eight straight games while Charlottetown continues to go through a rough stretch.

If the top four Eastern Conference seeds advance to the second round of the playoffs, the Sea Dogs would play either Charlottetown or Quebec.

A few other notes...

• If the playoffs started today, the Sea Dogs would face the Rimouski Oceanic in the opening round. The Oceanic are on a 7-0-1-0 run right now and appear poised to finish fifth overall in the Eastern Conference, which would have them play the No. 4 seed in the first round.
• Over in the Western Conference, the Sherbrooke Phoenix have a comfortable seven-point lead on the Olympiques for first overall.
• The Shawinigan Cataractes, thanks to a five-game losing streak, have slid to third overall in the Western Conference. They're just one point back of second-place Gatineau but have played two more games.
• The Cape Breton Eagles (33 points) will be one of the two teams missing this year's playoff. The second team is still very much up in the air. Victoriaville (45 points), Baie-Comeau (46), Rouyn-Noranda (47) and Chicoutimi (49) are all battling it out in the basement.
• Both the OHL and WHL regular seasons end on Sunday, April 17 while the QMJHL won't end until Sunday, May 1. In the OHL, the Hamilton Bulldogs sit first in the Eastern Conference and the Windsor Spitfires first in the Western. In the WHL, the Everett Silvertips lead the Western Conference while the Winnipeg Ice continue to lead the Eastern.