The Estevan Bruins split two games with the Kindersley Klippers in four days last week, and while they weren't happy with the result, it did give them a potential window into their future.

As the standings sit right now, Estevan is in good position atop the Viterra Division, but that position is precarious. Weyburn gained ground on them over the weekend, and holds two games in hand. The upcoming battles between the two long-time rivals have now become crucial. 

Kindersley is quite a ways back in the Global Ag Risk Solutions Divisions, and seems unlikely to catch either of Notre Dame or Humboldt, the latter of whom made a big splash at the trade deadline by acquiring Nick Shumlanski from Flin Flon. 

The Klippers are, however, fairly well entrenched into playoff position. If the playoffs began today, that position would see them matched up against Estevan.

Kindersley is a big, heavy team, and they play grinding hockey. That's the kind of hockey that tends to flourish in the playoffs when the rulebook gets a little more open to interpretation. 

The Bruins needed to prove they could beat the Kindersley Klippers last week. They proved that on Wednesday with a big win, beating Kindersley in overtime. Prior to that the Klippers were the only team the Bruins hadn't beaten in the entire SJHL. They did so without captain Jake Fletcher too, who was out serving a suspension.

The Bruins fell short in the rematch, however, and although they outshot the Klippers they never seemed to find their grove. Scoring remains an issue, oddly enough, as the team has now scored just seven goals in their last four games. Many times this year that's been a single game's output for the boys in black and gold. 

The Bruins have one more kick at Kindersley this year, in Kindersley, and they'll need to set a tone. Not only for themselves for the rest of the year, but for the playoffs potentially as well.

We're getting to the time of year where every game has some sort of playoff implications, and the biggest scorers need to be at their best in those games. The good news for the Bruins is that their big guns, which fell largely silent against the Klippers in the 2-1 loss, showed extremely well at the SJHL showcase.

For the Bruins, it might be just the confidence boost they need to go on a tear heading into the playoffs. It's crunch time now, and the Bruins have the horses to run through it. Now those horses need to gallop. 

That's another Bruins blog in the books. I've been Rob Mahon, and I'll say farwell for now.