It's the final weekend of the regular season and it could be the final week of the season, period, if the Manchester Monarchs don't pick up some wins.

Manchester plays at Connecticut tonight at 7 p.m. and then returns to Verizon Wireless Arena for 3 p.m. games Saturday (Hershey) and Sunday (St. John's).

The Monarchs come into the weekend in ninth place in the Eastern Conference at 36-32-5 for 77 points. The top eight teams make the playoffs.

“That's why you try and build a cushion (in the standings) early in the year,” said Monarchs head coach Mark Morris. “Unfortunately, we had two stints where we got off the beaten path and without those skids, we'd have more of a cushion.”

Manchester needs to outlast No. 8 Portland (35-30-9, 79).

The Pirates have played one more game than the Monarchs and host Hershey tonight and visit Providence Sunday.

All three games will be tough tests for Manchester.

The sixth-place Whale (36-26-12, 84) could catch Bridgeport (87 points) for first place in the Northeast Division, so Connecticut will be ready to go.

No. 5 Hershey (38-23-12, 88) could catch Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (93) to move up one slot and earn home ice in the first round.

Finally, St. John's has a pretty firm hold on the No. 2 seed, but the Monarchs have struggled against the IceCaps this season, falling in five out of seven games.

“The three teams we face are all darn good hockey clubs. We have to be extremely sharp in our execution and effective when our opportunities come,” Morris said. “The finer details of the game, the reason these three teams are (in the playoffs) is because they have that type of veteran experience to endure rough stretches.”

Manchester will be without Richard Clune tonight and Justin Johnson all weekend.

Clune was suspended one game and Johnson three for a pre-game scuffle at Worcester Tuesday.

Already without Andrei Loktionov (call-up to Los Angeles), the Monarchs will have to scramble with line combinations.

The good news is that captain Marc-Andre Cliche is expected to fight through an undisclosed injury to skate this weekend.

“He skated the last few days, but he's a far cry from a hunded percent,” Morris said. “He's always played hurt. If he gets (medical) clearance, he's the first guy over the boards.”

This weekend will test the Manchester mental mettle and if the Monarchs get in, should be a good springboard for the postseason.

“That we're still in it says how far we've brought this young team so far,” Morris said. “We'd love to get into the playoffs to continue developing.”