by Alana Klein

This weekend’s games

• Nashville-Washington:
  While Nashville has the luxury of being able to lose this game and still play for the #1 seed, a loss opens up the possibility of missing out on the first round bye. That being said, they will clinch that bye with a win. Washington figures to come out swinging to try to get out their frustrations from last weekend’s loss. They’re also in a tooth-and-nail fight for the privilege of hosting in the 1st round.
  
• Albany-Beaumont:
  Unlike Nashville, Albany does not have any cushion coming into this game. If they come away without a W, they could find themselves hosting — rather than skipping — the 1st round. On Beaumont’s end, they need to find lightning in a bottle as Michigan’s “magic number” for the 6-seed is growing ever-smaller.
  
• Kentucky-Minnesota:
  If Kentucky doesn’t stop the current slide that it’s on, they could find themselves on the road in the first round rather than hosting. As noted above, there’s a possibility of grabbing the 2-seed but they have to avoid scoreboard watching. On the same token, Minnesota’s trying to earn a home game to open the playoffs. Things are looking pretty good in the Monsters’ favor with the tiebreaker (see below).

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Tiebreaker-clinching scenarios

• Nashville-Washington and Albany-Beaumont tiebreakers are irrelevant to the standings.
  
• If Kentucky beats Minnesota by 38+ points, Kentucky wins the tiebreaker via cumulative points in the head-to-head games. If Kentucky wins by EXACTLY 37 points, the tiebreaker would go to whomever scores the most total points in the regular season. If Minnesota loses by 36 or fewer points or wins, they would clinch the head-to-head.

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PLAYOFFS?! Don’t talk about playoffs!

* Please note that when I use the word “clinch” in this section, that means that the team is guaranteed to have at worst that spot in the playoffs, but they can improve upon it. For example, a team that has “clinched” the 3-seed could possibly finish with the 2- or the 1-seed, but is not at risk of dropping to the 4-, 5-, or 6-seed.
If a team has a seeding that they can finish neither nor lower than, that will be denote by the phrase LOCKED IN.

• Albany Firebirds
  • seed clinched: 3
  • best possible seed: 1
    
  • can clinch a 2-seed with:
    • win over Beaumont
      OR
    • Kentucky loss to Minnesota
      
      
• Beaumont Renegades
  • has not clinched a playoff berth
  • best possible seed: 4
    
  • no clinching scenarios
    
    
• Kentucky Barrels
  • seed clinched: 5
  • best possible seed: 1
    
  • can clinch a 4-seed with:
    • Washington loss to Nashville
      
  • can clinch a 3-seed with:
    • win over Minnesota
      
      
• Michigan Arsenal
  • has not clinched a playoff berth
  • best possible seed: 4
    
  • no clinching scenarios
    
    
• Minnesota Monsters
  • has not clinched a playoff berth
  • best possible seed: 3
    
  • can clinch a playoff berth with:
    • win over Kentucky
      
      
• Nashville Kats
  • seed clinched: 3
  • best possible seed: 1
    
  • can clinch a 2-seed with:
    • win over Washington
      OR
    • Kentucky loss to Minnesota
      
  • can LOCK IN a 1-seed with:
    • win over Washington
      AND
    • Albany loss to Beaumont
      
      
• Oceanside Bombers
  • has been eliminated from postseason contention
    
    
• Washington Wolfpack
  • has not clinched a playoff berth
  • best possible seed: 3
    
  • can clinch a playoff berth with:
    • win over Nashville
      AND
    • Beaumont loss to Albany