The Victoria Royals, who have clinched home-ice advantage for the first-round of the Western Hockey League playoffs, won鈥檛 play a meaningful game again until opening the post season on March 22 at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
There are six regular-season games remaining for Victoria, beginning tonight in Kennewick, Washington, against the Tri-City Americans to start a three-game road swing through the U.S. Division that continues Friday in Kent, Washington, against the Seattle Thunderbirds and Saturday in Spokane against the Chiefs.
The Royals clinched both a playoff spot and home-ice advantage in Saturday鈥檚 5-2 win over the Prince George Cougars, who will miss the playoffs for a second consecutive season.
The hearts of Royals fans must have gone through their throats in that game, when forward Kody McDonald and Tarun Fizer both took hits to the head, McDonald by a stick and Fizer by a stanchion that protects the edge of the glass near the visitors鈥� bench. Fizer and McDonald returned but to limited action.
Victoria fans remember all too well the regular-season, final-weekend injuries that took out stars Tyler Soy and Scott Walford from the playoffs last spring.
The Royals were already missing leading-scorer Kaid Oliver and top-four defenceman Matthew Smith last weekend against the Cougars.
鈥淲e will monitor [McDonald, Fizer, Oliver and Smith] this week and make our decisions,鈥� Victoria head coach Dan Price said.
On the latest WHL injury report, before the weekend sweep against lowly Prince George, Oliver was listed as week-to-week and Smith as being out seven to 10 days, both with upper body injuries.
It brings up a point all teams must face late in regular seasons after wrapping up home-ice, home-field or home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Unless you are going for records or the divisional crown, you can鈥檛 accomplish more. The Royals are going for neither. So how hard do you go?
The thing is, it鈥檚 not a tap. You can鈥檛 just turn drive, effort and emotion off during the late regular season and back on again for the playoffs. Also, athletes can鈥檛 go half speed. That鈥檚 when more injuries are bound to occur.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 just turn it on for the playoffs,鈥� Royals defenceman Ralph Jarratt said.
Jarratt and the Royals say they need to get into good playoff habits now.
鈥淲e need consistency and a full 60 minutes of effort during this closing stretch,鈥� said Jarratt.
The 20-year-old blueliner, a rare fifth-year Royal, recently returned to the Victoria lineup after missing 10 games in a season pockmarked by injuries that have limited him to only 30 games.
鈥淚鈥檓 feeling really good and have picked up where I left off,鈥� said Jarratt, as he hit the ice for the Prince George set.
Bench-boss Price is also wary about any let up now.
鈥淲e want to be peaking at playoff time,鈥� said Price.
鈥淎lso, these final 12 points available might prove important for seeding, if we advance to the second round of the playoffs. You just try to win every game you can.鈥�
The Vancouver Giants (44-14-4) have clinched first place in the sa国际传媒 Division and the Royals, with a 33-25-4, record, are guaranteed to wind up in second place. Divisional foes Kelowna Rockets (27-30-6) and Kamloops Blazers (23-31-7) have yet to clinch a playoff spot.
Two of the three U.S. Division opponents the Royals face this week on the road have clinched playoff berths 鈥� Spokane (35-19-7 heading into Tuesday night) and Tri-City (33-25-4). Seattle (26-28-8) has yet to clinch, but leads Kamloops by seven points in the battle for the final wildcard berth in the Western Conference.
