There’s enough games left that no team is yet a lock or eliminated, but at this point Cleveland (Columbus Blue Jackets affiliates) and Syracuse (Tampa Bay Lightning affiliates) would have to go on a really big losing streak to not make it into the playoffs, though interestingly those two teams do not have any more games against each other this season, so there is no scenario where one of them has to beat the other and one walks away with the standings points.
The real contest is for that third place spot which lets a team bypass the dreaded play-in round for teams at fourth and fifth place; a quick best-of-three tournament that you would want to skip if you can and instead go directly to the “real” start of the playoffs where you play second place in the division.
Tonight, the Marlies start another tough three-in-three weekend again, and when it’s over their playoff picture will be much more clear. They will face some of the same teams they saw last weekend with one rare visitor to Toronto; the schedule is as follows:
The four standings points accumulated last weekend against other teams from the North Division were a boost to the their rank in the standings as the competition for better playoff berths in the division is fierce. The end of the season is now in sight, about 30 days away, and the team has very little margin left for slip-ups.
