Good Friday morning Caps fans, hope you all are having a relaxing week. Here in the U.S., we’ve been consumed by elections (which I write about for my day job) so I’m coming back up for air.

That means redirecting my attention to the Caps game tonight, which I forgot about for most of the week amid everything else. Vancouver heads back to LA for the decisive game three, with their season on the line.

Suffice to say, this is a massive match for the Caps. They’ve held up as well as you could ask against LAFC — but that doesn’t mean much if you ultimately can’t figure out a way to advance. The strength of this performance should cast the season in a somewhat better light win or lose but it would be tough to come so close and not get it over the line.

Our match preview (more below) sums things up well. But I am curious folks’ feelings on the best-of-three series — aside from the fact that the Caps would have won the series outright under a home-and-home format.

This season has been a much better advertisement for the three game idea, I must say. The quality of play has been very good and we’ve seen some fun, free-wheeling soccer, unshackled from the limits that an aggregate or knockout setup can provide. The best example was the Columbus/New York series, with the Red Bulls pulling the upset.

But the fact that some of the teams have a prohibitively long layoff due to the international break (not MLS’ fault) and the playoff format (MLS’ fault) is downright silly. Moreover, the fact that a team like Colorado could have conceivably come back after losing 5-0 in the first match is wild.

I’ve always been a believer in the home-and-away type of arrangement and, in this case, it would solve the biggest problems MLS was trying to address with the best of three. It would increase the number of games compared with just a knockout style and it ensures both teams get a home game.

And while the search for away goals or trying to minimize the aggregate damage can lead to less than enthralling soccer, it is still better in many ways than the stalemates that can emerge in knockout games. Some of MLS’ most exciting playoff matches occurred under this format (Montreal/Toronto in 2016 comes to mind).

MLS is in a bit of a no-win situation with the current international schedule for how it structures the playoffs. But while this year has sold me slightly more on the playoff format, I’m still not a convert. Unless, that is, the Caps get a win tonight.

Shameless Self Promotion

We have everything you need to know on the last dance between LAFC and Vancouver on Friday night — and remember to get those lineup predictions in! Caleb, meanwhile, bops around to the second team and runs down how things went for Whitecaps 2.

Best of the Rest

A nice profile of Vanni Sartini from a Los Angeles perspective and how the gaffer has helped Vancouver push LAFC to the brink.

The five things the Caps need to do in order to walk away with a victory later tonight.

A look at how Cavalry FC built a CPL stalwart ahead of this weekend’s final.

In a shocking move, Philadelphia Union have parted ways with manager Jim Curtin.

San Jose, meanwhile, have filled their managerial vacancy with MLS legend Bruce Arena.