The road to securing a playoff berth for the Prince George Cougars will go through Kamloops.
The Cougars have six games remaining in the Western Hockey League's regular season, and four of them are against the Blazers.
Prince George is in Kamloops tonight (7 p.m.) to face off against the Blazers in a crucial B.C. Division tilt. It's the launch of a three-game road trip that also takes the Cougars to Tri-City Friday and Portland on Saturday.
With a 28-33-2-3 record, the Cougars currently occupy the third spot in the Western Conference's B.C. Division with 61 points. Kelowna (50-11-4-1) is in first place in the division while Victoria (35-27-3-1) sits in second place.
The Blazers are four points behind the Cougars in the B.C. Division with 57 points at 25-34-4-3, good for fourth place.
Tonight, the Cougars hope to build on the four-point cushion they have over the Blazers to try and lock down a spot in the post-season.
Under the new WHL playoff format this season, the top-three teams in each division qualify for the first-six playoff berths within each of the two WHL conferences.
The remaining two spots in each conference will be filled through wild cards, with the next two highest-placed clubs earning playoff berths based on their regular-season record, regardless of division.
In the Western Conference Wild Card race as of Tuesday, the Spokane Chiefs and Tri-City Americans are seventh and eighth respectively, while the Blazers are ninth.
The Cougars have collected points in their last six games and are 5-0-0-1 in that span.
Kamloops only trail the Americans by two points in the race for the last playoff berth.
Once the Cats return to Prince George early next week, they'll wrap up the regular season with a two-game homestand at CN Centre against the Blazers on March 18 and 20 and will then travel to Kamloops on March 21.
In 32 road games this season, the Cougars are 14-16-1-1 and are 14-17-1-2 in 34 games at home at CN Centre.
The Blazers are 17-14-1-1 in 33 games at home this season, but are a dismal 8-20-3-2 in 33 road games.
