Everett or Seattle? Prince George?

Now that the Portland Winterhawks have wrapped up the number one seed in the Western Conference, all that remains is to figure out who they will face in the first round of the WHL playoffs.  It will either be the Everett Silvertips or the Seattle Thunderbirds, neither of whom are really that good if you look at the team stats.  The Prince George Cougars are also in the hunt, but expecting them to make it isn't the safest bet.

Everett goaltender Daniel Cotton

Currently, the Silvertips would be facing the Winterhawks if the season ended today, and with a league worst 161 goals for, it's not much of a stretch to figure out why the Silvertips made a mid-season coaching change. Of course, having less than sterling goaltending has done the Silvertips no favors, as they have given up 255 goals, which is a -94 goal differential.

Seth Swenson (21) and Connor Honey (14)

The Seattle Thunderbirds currently hold the number seven seed in the Western Conference, but are only ahead of Everett by a point and Prince George by five.  Their offense has been better, with 193 goals to show for it.  However, their goaltending has been atrocious, surrendering 269 goals.  Part of the problem is that the goaltenders face a lot of shots, as starting goaltender Brandon Glover has seen over 1800 shots.  By comparison, Kelowna's goaltending has seen just a little more than that...combined.  Yes, their goaltending is terrible, but so has the overall team defense.

Klarc Wilson

Currently, the Prince George Cougars sit four points out of the last playoff spot with 50 points.  They have the second worst offense, with 169 goals, and have given up 250 goals.  Like Everett, the Cougars struggle to score goals, and clearly since their numbers are similar to one another, I don't envision Prince George catching up.

As for games left, Seattle has a home game against Tri-City tonight and a home and home against Portland on Friday and Saturday.  Everett has a home and home against Victoria on Friday and Saturday before closing out the season at home against Tri-City on Sunday.  Prince George has a road game at Spokane tonight, a road game at Kelowna on Thursday, and a home and home against Kamloops on Friday and Saturday.