After back-to-back home wins Vancouver Whitecaps have given their playoff chances a massive boost, but with their closest challenger Portland Timbers winning on Wednesday night, the Whitecaps find themselves out of the top five in the Western Conference heading into Friday nights match in Seattle (live on TSN). Andrew Heaney Jersey . The Whitecaps are two points behind Portland with three matches to play, while the Timbers now have just two games remaining. So Vancouver still holds their destiny in their own hands, but they are heading into one of the toughest matches on their schedule. It isnt just MLS points up for grabs on Friday. The Cascadia Cup will also be decided, with Vancouver needing a win to successfully retain the trophy. The Form: After a 3-0 loss at Portland three weeks ago the outlook for Vancouver was bleak, but wins against Real Salt Lake and Dallas at BC Place have reinvigorated the Caps. It is the first time since May they have win consecutive games, but a big positive for Carl Robinson was the way his side performed in their last game against Dallas. The Whitecaps looked solid defensively while being creative and dangerous going forward. They looked much more like the team that produced so many exciting moments in the first half of the season, and there were impressive individual performances throughout, including Mauro Rosales who had his best game since joining the club. The Caps also recorded their 10th clean sheet of the season. So there is a confidence within the squad, but there is no doubt the Caps face an extremely tough test. Sigi Schmids Seattle have won their last two matches, scoring eight goals in the process, and their most recent victory against Colorado Rapids last Sunday set a new club record for wins in a season - it was their 19th victory in 31 matches. The Sounders are unbeaten at home in their last five matches, winning four of those games. After losing their first two at CenturyLink Field this season, they have only been beaten once there since. The Big Question: Can the Whitecaps find a way to win on the road? Vancouver have lost their last three games away from home at LA, Dallas and Portland and only managed to score in one of those games. The Caps have won just twice away from home this season, with their last victory coming back on June 1st in Portland. If the Whitecaps are to make the playoffs, they will need to win away. Next weeks match against a struggling San Jose is likely to provide them a better opportunity, but it was just 12 months ago when they produced a stunning victory in Seattle - one of the highlights of the clubs time in MLS so far. On that occasion Kekuta Manneh was sensational and scored a hat-trick in a 4-1 win. The Whitecaps played with no fear, as if they had nothing to lose. At such a crucial time of the season, Carl Robinson will look for his side to produce a repeat performance and play with a similar freedom at CenturyLink Field in a game few people expect them to win. The Opposition: The Sounders were the first team to clinch a playoff place in MLS this season back on September 12th, and are now fighting head to head with LA Galaxy for the Supporters Shield. The strength of this Sounders team is in attack. They are the second highest scorers in MLS this season with 61 goals, and have only been shutout on four occasions - one of those was at BC Place against the Caps back in June. Nigerian international Obafemi Martins has had an excellent second season in MLS and is in the conversation for the leagues MVP award. Martins has 17 goals and 10 assists so far this season, with four goals coming in the last two matches. US international Clint Dempsey has also been finding the net on a regular basis. He has 14 goals and 9 assists. With Lamar Neagle and Marco Pappa also in good form, the Sounders attack is one of the most frightening in the league. In defence, the Sounders will have to make a change as they are missing right back DeAndre Yedlin who is away on international duty with the United States. The Lineup: The absence of Sebastian Fernandez due to suspension leaves Carl Robinson with a big hole to fill in his starting lineup. The young Uruguayan scored both goals in the win over Dallas and has been impressive in recent games. It is expected that Robinson will stick with a 4-2-3-1 formation and the likely choice to replace Fernandez on the left side of midfield is Kekuta Manneh. The teenager has made a positive impact off the bench in the last two matches and is now set to be handed an opportunity from kickoff. Beyond the decision on who will replace Fernandez, Robinson is unlikely to make many changes to a side that played well a week ago. Goalkeeper David Ousted and the back four in front of him should be unchanged, and Matias Laba and Russell Teibert will once again play as the two holding midfielders. The only other difference could be in the attacking midfield roles, depending on whether Robinson believes Pedro Morales and Mauro Rosales are 100 per cent. Rosales will surely want to start against his former team, but Morales has needed to manage his minutes over the last six weeks after playing 14 months without a break. The Odds: While the Whitecaps recent poor road form and Seattles excellent results at home will make the Sounders heavy favourites heading into Fridays match, Vancouvers performances against Seattle so far this season should give the Caps confidence that they can get a positive result. Having not won in their first five meetings in MLS with their neighbours from down the I5, the Caps have now picked up victories in three of the last four. This season, the two teams tied 2-2 at BC Place in May when the Sounders levelled from a controversial late penalty, and Vancouver won 1-0 at home in July thanks to an early Sebastian Fernandez goal. The Sounders were missing some of their big name players for both previous meetings. If the Whitecaps can take a point home from Seattle it would be an excellent result - anything more than that would be an incredible upset. Where to Watch: Join me with Jason de Vos and Perry Solkowski for the Whitecaps at Seattle live on TSN on Friday night at 10pm ET, 7pm PT. Garrett Richards Jersey . - Pierre-Maxime Poudrier scored twice and added an assist, and Antoine Bibeau made 43 saves as the Val-dOr Foreur downed the Baie-Comeau Drakkar 6-3 on Sunday to force Game 7 in their Quebec Major Junior Hockey League final series. Brandon Phillips Jersey . Torres tells Spanish daily AS "in football you never know where you will be inside one month. Im going to work hard, thats all you can do with this last part of the season so important. http://www.angelsteamshop.com/Angels-Yunel-Escobar-Kids-Jersey/ . The Broncos quarterback earned the offensive award Wednesday after passing for 374 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-21 win over the Raiders Monday night. Manning completed 32-of-37 passes and had a passer rating of 135.UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Thanks to the stellar play of rookie goaltender Reto Berra, the Calgary Flames won for the sixth time in seven games. David Jones scored the tiebreaking goal late in the third period and the Berra made 28 saves as the Calgary Flames beat the New York Islanders 4-2 Thursday night. "Reto was simply outstanding. He was the guy who kept us in the game and gave us a chance," Flames coach Bob Hartley said. "He made big saves early and gave us a chance. Then we started skating better and executing better." Jones banked the puck off the Islanders goalie Evgeni Nabokov from a sharp angle at 14:28 to lift the Flames to their first at Nassau Coliseum since 2004. Mikael Backlund added an empty-net goal for the Flames, his 14th of the season. The 27-year-old Berra, who will join Anaheims Jonas Hiller with Switzerlands team at the upcoming Winter Games in Sochi, improved to 8-15-2 and won for the first time in regulation. Sean Monahan and Dennis Wideman scored in the second period to put Calgary ahead 2-0. But the Islanders rallied to tie it on goals by defencemen Thomas Hickey and Calvin de Haan. The Islanders went on the power play with three minutes left when Jiri Hudler was called for hooking but couldnt muster much of an attack. Monahans team-leading 16th goal opened the scoring at 14:15 of the second when he wristed a loose puck from outside the crease over Nabokovs left shoulder. The 19-year-old rookie centre was the sixth overall pick by the Flames in last Junes draft. Wideman made it 2-0 at 18:08 with a snapshot from the slot, his fourth of the season. Hickey cut the deficit in half at 19:53 of the second, snapping the puck past Berra for his fourth of the season. The Islanders tied it at 7:31 of the third when de Haan blasted a shot past Berra. John Tavares and Thomas Vanek had assists on the second goal of the season for the rookie defenceman. It was the first point in five games for Tavares, who is second in league scoring with 23 goaals and 42 assists, 12 points behind Pittsburghs Sidney Crosby. Blake Parker Jersey. The loss left Tavares exasperated once again. "We seem to find more way to lose than win," he said. The Flames had only 22 shots but made them count. Calgary (22-28-7) finishes its road trip with a visit to Philadelphia on Saturday before the Olympic break. Calgary swept a five-game homestand before losing at Montreal 2-0 on Tuesday. "We worked hard and earned out chances," said centre Matt Stajan, who was originally credited with the go-ahead goal. "We didnt give up, kept the pressure on them and it paid off for us." The Islanders (22-29-8) were within five points of a playoff spot when they beat the Rangers 5-3 on Jan. 21 but six losses in seven games has essentially ruined their post-season hopes. After the game, the Islanders traded forwards Peter Regin and Pierre-Marc Bouchard to the Chicago Blackhawks for a fourth-round pick in this Junes draft. Regin, who was scratched against Calgary, had two goals and five assists in 44 games. Bouchard was playing for AHL Bridgeport after four goals and five assists in 28 games. The Islanders were starting a five-game homestand before and after the Olympic break. Theyll host Colorado on Saturday before the NHL season halts for the Winter Games at Sochi. Theyll resume against Toronto on Feb. 27. "We have to simplify our game and just get better with execution," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. The Islanders had won three straight and five of six against Flames, including the last three on Long Island. The teams last met Dec. 29, 2011, when the Islanders won 3-1. The last time the Flames won at Nassau was Jan. 6, 2004. The Islanders are 19-7-3 when they score at least three goals and are 3-22-5 when they do not. NOTES: The teams will play again March 7 in Calgary. ... The Islanders remained without defenceman Travis Hamonic (upper body). ... The Flames were missing goaltender Karri Ramo (knee) and forward Curtis Glencross (ankle). Cheap Hockey Blackhawks Jerseys Cheap Hockey Avalanche Jerseys Cheap Hockey Stars Jerseys Cheap Hockey Wild Jerseys Cheap Hockey Predators Jerseys Cheap Hockey Blues Jerseys Cheap Hockey Jets Jerseys Cheap Hockey Ducks Jerseys Cheap Hockey Coyotes Jerseys Cheap Hockey Flames Jerseys Cheap Hockey Oilers Jerseys Cheap Hockey Kings Jerseys Cheap Hockey Sharks Jerseys Cheap Hockey Canucks Jerseys Cheap Hockey Golden Knights Jerseys Hockey Team Canada Jerseys ' ' '