Sea Dogs racing for playoff spot again

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The good news: it looks like the Saint John Sea Dogs will be playing some meaningful games down the stretch.

The bad news: making the playoffs is not a guarantee.

Saint John's recent slide (they're 3-7 in their last 10 games) has moved them into a logjam with the Quebec Remparts and Gatineau Olympiques for the QMJHL's final playoff spots.

With less than two months remaining in the QMJHL's regular season, here's how the bottom of the standings currently stand.

The top 16 teams in the overall standings will qualify for the post-season. It's still possible for the Val-d'Or Foreurs to make a run, but they are sliding out of it thanks to a 13-game losing streak.

Right now, it looks like Saint John, Gatineau and Quebec will be battling for the final spots. There's still time to catch the likes of Charlottetown and Shawinigan though — which could make for an even more interesting race.

Gatineau has been playing like a different team since the calendar flipped. The Olympiques are 7-2-1-0 in their last 10 and a lot of their success is thanks to former Sea Dogs defenseman Mathis Gauthier, who has been putting up numbers since being traded.

Saint John will host the Olympiques on Feb. 17 and visit Quebec on Feb. 23.

The Sea Dogs were in a playoff race last year as well, grabbing the No. 15 seed with a 24-38-5-1 record for 54 points. 

The Remparts, meanwhile, haven't missed the playoffs since 1993 when they were the Beauport Harfangs. The Olympiques have not missed the playoffs since 1984.

There are a couple other interesting races developing. In the Western Conference, Drummondville (67 points), Rouyn-Noranda (65) and Victoriaville (61) are battling for top spot. In the Maritimes Division, Halifax (66) has pulled ahead of Moncton (58) but Cape Breton (54) is on their tail.

The Baie-Comeau Drakkar still sit fairly comfortably first overall in the QMJHL standings with 78 points.