Stretch Drive

[countryboy]

The remaining couple of weeks on the QMJHL schedule should be very interesting as we watch teams jockey for their positions for playoff matchups. Right now in the Eastern Conference, we sit in second place with 93 points. Quebec sits in first with 94 points, but we do have a game in hand on them.

Its great that we are in control of our own destiny. If we run the table then we clinch first overall even if Quebec manages to do the same. Right now we are on a three game winning streak. Is it reasonable to expect us to run off another six straight wins? Well... that sounds like something that a team that deserves first place would be able to pull off, right!

Here's what we have remaining:

Thursday vs. Rimouski
Friday vs. Sherbrooke
Sunday vs. Baie-Comeau
next Tuesday in Sydney
next Friday in Moncton
Sunday May 1st to wrap the season up vs. Bathurst

Quebec's remaining schedule looks like this:

Friday hosting Drummondville
Sunday hosting Victoriaville
visit Baie-Comeau next Wed, Apr. 27
wrap up the season with a home and home with Rimouski on Friday and Sunday

You can't look past any team at this point in the season and every game has huge implications. I think Quebec has the easier schedule with very winnable games vs. Drum, Vic, and BC. Rimouski will give them a tough run and they will have to be very sharp to beat Rimouski twice in the same weekend.

Rimouski and Sherbrooke are two good teams. We are lucky to catch them at home and also luck to be getting Sherbrooke at the end of a road trip. We have seen Moncton give us trouble and Bathurst has been a very tough matchup for us.

If we falter, Saint John is sizzling behind us and currently sit with 88 points... and we do have a game in hand on them. They are the best looking junior team around right now and are riding a 10 game winning streak. Saint John's remaining schedule is as follows:

-Friday in Bathurst
-Saturday in Moncton
-host Cape Breton for a pair on the 28th and 29th
-up to Moncton to wrap up the season May 1.

Bathurst will be prime to try to close some ground between themselves and the Sea Dogs, but other than that, SJ should have an easy time picking up wins in the rest of their games. If Saint John ran the table through their remaining 6 games, we would need at least 6 points in our last 6 games to finish ahead of them. At this point, if we can't achieve that, then we would be on a concerning slide heading into the post season.

I'll include Bathurst's matchups in the discussion. They are fading a bit, but if they get hot and Saint John somehow cools off, the Titan could leap frog SJ for 3rd seed in the conference. I think we are too far ahead of Bathurst right now for them to be a danger to catch us. They need 12 points (so run the table for the rest of the season combined with us going on a 6 game losing streak in order to catch us.

Bathurst has 82 points and these are their remaining games:

-host Sherbrooke Thursday
-host Saint John Friday
-host Moncton Sunday
-up to Sherbrooke next Tuesday
-in Shawinigan next Wednesday
-wrap up visiting us Sunday May 1st.

That is a tough schedule for the Titan. They've got an 11 point lead on Rimouski, so they are probably settled into the 4th seed in the Conference.

But there's not need to sugar coat things. I think that 1st overall seed in the conference is critically important leading into the playoffs. If we can pull ahead of Quebec and stay there it means we should avoid Saint John in round 2 (if we both make it there, haha). Remember... in round 3 teams are seeded based on overall standings, so cross overs will happen if applicable. Then if we're going on a deep run we might meet SJ in the finals and both teams punch a ticket to the Memorial Cup.

Conversely, if we can't take advantage of the opportunity in front of us and Quebec finishes first overall in the standings, it a a very strong possibility that Charlottetown and SJ meet in a juggernaut second round series... and remember it's a best of 5 only! It would be a tremendously disappointing result to see this team go down in the second round given how successful a campaign it has been.

Every game is of critical importance at this point.... buckle up for the ride!

[dutchinc]

I’d say we would need to win at least 5 of 6 to beat Quebec.
I expect we will need to win all our games, I don’t see them losing to any of those teams with the exception of one when they play 2 vs Rimouski, those games are key.
If we lose 2 our chances are minimal.

[bd]

SJ certainly has the best remaining schedule, I could see them easily taking all their remaining games. Quebec could also easily take all their remaining games.

Teams have been running away with games and really, aside from last night in Moncton, charlottetown has been battling to get the 2 points. Of course in the end, doesn't matter how you win it just matters that you do.

Hope to see Boyd back for playoffs, would love to see him back sooner but I'd rather wait till he's really ready to go. I think he'll bring a lot for playoff hockey.

[L'il Boy]

Apr 20, 2022 20:40:43 GMT -4 bd said:

SJ certainly has the best remaining schedule, I could see them easily taking all their remaining games. Quebec could also easily take all their remaining games.

Teams have been running away with games and really, aside from last night in Moncton, charlottetown has been battling to get the 2 points. Of course in the end, doesn't matter how you win it just matters that you do.

Hope to see Boyd back for playoffs, would love to see him back sooner but I'd rather wait till he's really ready to go. I think he'll bring a lot for playoff hockey.

Except that in those tight games, you're less prone to make mistakes or take shortcuts, because you need the 2 points. It's those blowout games where teams sometimes tend to lose focus, or allow bad habits back in to their game.