Americans Vs. Royals in Round 2 of WHL Playoffs

The Tri-City Americans will certainly be less tired than Victoria as they open up the 2nd Round of the WHL Playoffs Friday. (Photo by Jon Howe courtesy Tri City Americans)

But some say it's better to keep 'playing' or busy rather than have time off. In the NFL, that argument rages. Do teams who sweep and get time off play as well or get 'rusty?' Do teams that have to keep playing and steady schedule stay in the groove?

We will find out starting in Victoria B.C. Friday.  The Americans will continue to be the 'road' team, as they were a wild-card.  They won't get home ice advantage at all in the playoffs. The Americans steamrolled Kelowna 4-0, while Victoria had a pair of overtime games en route to a 7 game series with Vancouver that ended Tuesday.

A look back shows a pretty even split. The last two seasons, they've played 8 times, going 4-4 head to head.  Both sides have won either big (scores like 7-1 or 8-2) or close...several 5-4 overtime games.

In their last meeting, the Americans on January 31st, put a 7-1 win up against the Royals at Toyota Center. They finished atop the B.C. (British Columbia) Division.  The Royals are relatively 'new' to the WHL, they're the old Chilliwack Bruins. The Bruins were in existence from 2006 to 2011, but never saw much success. In 2011 they were sold and moved to Victoria, where they became the Royals. Since then they've seen much more success.

Games 1-2 are Friday and Saturday 6:45 pregame from Victoria, Games 3-4 at home at Toyota Center are Tues-Wed April 10-11, 6:45pregame.