Hitmen battling it out down the stretch for a playoff spot

When you're in a battle to make it into the playoffs, you need players to step up.  That's exactly what rookie forward Matteo Danis did on Wednesday night.

Danis had his best game in the WHL, scoring four goals as the Hitmen got past the Lethbridge Hurricanes 7-1.

Danis says it was just one of those games where everything went right.

"A lot of puck luck," said the 17-year-old.

Matteo Danis scored four goals for the Hitmen Wednesday night (Photo: Twitter@WHLHitmen)

"It was like everything I was touching seemed to work out in some sort and I was working with such great teammates," he added.

"They helped me out so much passing the puck and stuff like that.  I got lucky a few times but no it felt good."

TIGHT RACE

The Hitmen have just six games left in the regular season.  That includes two more against the Hurricanes, a home-and-home series with the Medicine Hat Tigers this weekend and they close out the regular season with a home-and-home set against the Edmonton Oil Kings next weekend.

And it is getting tense down the stretch.  

The Hitmen are in a battle with three other teams for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Medicine Hat is in seventh place with 63 points, The Hitmen are in eighth,  one point back of them.  Swift Current has 60 points with five games left.  Brandon also has 60 points but only have four games remaining. 

Here's a look at each teams schedule down the stretch.   

Eastern Conference standings

Medicine Hat has 63 points, with six games remaining: two apiece against Edmonton, Calgary, and Swift Current, with each being a home-and-home scenario.

Calgary has 62 points with six games remaining, including home-and-home against Edmonton and Medicine Hat, and two on the road against Lethbridge.

Swift Current has 60 points with five games remaining, including a home-and-home against Medicine Hat, two on the road against Red Deer and one against Edmonton.

Brandon has 60 points with four games remaining including home-and-home against Winnipeg, at home against Prince Alberta and on the road in Saskatoon.

As good as the win felt against the Hurricanes, Danis knows the have to put it in the rear-view mirror.

"We kind of as a team soaked it in last night," he said.

"We were happy and then today at the rink we show up and it's a new day.  We've flipped the page in the book."

HAVEN'T HANDLED SUCCESS WELL

The Hitmen haven't always had the right response following big wins this season.  Head coach Steve Hamilton says they can't afford to think that way down the stretch.

"I would like to see us handle success better and I think that's something that comes with maturity in the expectation from your group that we need repeatable performances and that you can't dwell on successful moments or a big win.  It's a complete reset and I think that starts today (Thursday) leading into a busy weekend."

SEVEN GAME SERIES

The weekend games include travelling to Lethbridge to face the Hurricanes Friday night and then a home-and-home series with the Medicine Hat Tigers starting Saturday night in the Gas City.

The Hitmen are looking at the final games of the regular season like a playoff series.  Goaltender Brayden Peters says if they win the series they'll have a good shot to get into the playoffs.

"We have six now but with that one (7-1 victory over Hurricanes) it was seven games left," said Peters.

"We are going into these last games as a seven game playoff series.  We're treating it as an introduction as a way to get into the playoffs."