The Estevan Bruins' recent three-game winning streak has come at a good time.
Of course, there's never a bad time for such a streak (unless you're the 1992-93 Ottawa Senators), but this one came just as it looked like the Bruins had fallen out of the picture for a top-three playoff spot in the Sherwood Conference.
Garnering one of those spots gives a team a bye into the quarter-finals, allowing them to skip the survivor series.
The Bruins are in the midst of a full week off, and during that time, the Melville Millionaires and Yorkton Terriers will make up most of their games in hand.
Entering last night's games, with both Yorkton and Melville playing, the Bruins were in third place.
But Melville was only one point behind, with five games in hand. Yorkton was three points ahead, with two games in hand.
From my vantage point, that gives the Bruins a better chance of tracking down the Terriers.
But the weekend home-and-home series between the Highway 10 rivals ended with probably the worst possible results for the Bruins.
Yorkton won on Friday, and Melville won in overtime on Saturday after blowing a four-goal lead.
The best result for the Bruins would have been for Melville to win both games in regulation. The Mils will likely take second place anyway, so in this scenario, you're conceding that spot while getting the best possible chance to take down the Terriers.
Instead, both teams won a game, and an extra point was handed out.
Still, the Bruins stayed in the hunt with their recent wins over Flin Flon and Kindersley.
Including last night, Yorkton has 12 games left, including seven at home. They are at Nipawin, at Flin Flon, vs. Kindersley, vs. Kindersley, vs. Flin Flon, vs. Melfort, vs. Battlefords, at Estevan, at Notre Dame, vs. La Ronge, vs. La Ronge and at Notre Dame.
That's three games against bottom feeders (along with two against fifth-place Notre Dame) and only one against a top team.
Still, Nipawin is red hot, and the Bombers and Ice Wolves are locked in a battle for third place in the Bauer Conference, so those games likely won't be easy.
The Mils, meanwhile, could be facing some fatigue with 11 games in 17 days.
Only four of those are at home, but they finish with a four-game homestand.
Melville plays at Battlefords, at Kindersley, at Melfort, vs. Kindersley, vs. Flin Flon, at Humboldt, at Notre Dame, vs. Melfort, at Weyburn, vs. Battlefords, at Nipawin, vs. La Ronge, vs. La Ronge, vs. Humboldt and vs. Notre Dame.
Five games against top teams, four against bottom feeders.
Their next three games aside, it's a tough stretch to have to make up your games in hand, but if Melville gets through the next two weeks, they get to finish the season at home.
The Bruins, meanwhile, play six of their 10 remaining games at home. The road contests are a three-game swing to Kindersley and Battlefords (two games against Kindersley) and a quick trip to Weyburn.
Estevan has three games left against basement dwellers and five against top teams. That said, they've shown this year that they can handle Weyburn and Humboldt.
It goes without saying that the Feb. 8 home game against Yorkton is a must-win if the race is still close at that time.
After all that, it should also be noted that playing in the survivor series can be an advantage.
The top three teams get two weeks off, and it's tough to keep your team fresh and ready for game action in that period.
The survivor series winner has played and gotten a chance to work out any kinks. They have a chance to jump on their rusty opponents in the first couple of games and give themselves an upper hand.
Meanwhile, the way it's going in the Bauer, they might need a tie-breaker to determine which team gets in the top three and which team starts the survivor series on the road.
And how about Melfort ending Humboldt's 17-game winning streak on Saturday? Sometimes you just never know.
Josh Lewis can be reached by phone at 634-2654, by e-mail at sports@estevanmercury.ca, on Twitter at twitter.com/joshlewis306 or on his Bruins blog at estevanmercury.ca/bruinsbanter. Please do contact the author if you know the last time the Florida Panthers were on Hockey Night in Canada.
