MLS playoffs: How the West stacks up after Game 1

Vancouver (2) vs. Dallas (7) — 3-0

By pure chance, Vancouver and Dallas faced off on the final day of the MLS regular season. Hampered by an early (and debatable) red card, Vancouver played well but lost to Dallas, 2-1.

When asked if he felt Dallas' unexpected win on Decision Day would give it confidence in the playoffs, Vancouver star Thomas Muller's answer was hysterical in its bluntness. 

"Do you think they’ll come here and have more confidence after getting outplayed by 10 men for 80 minutes?" he shot back. "Have you played soccer?”

Turns out, Muller was right to be dismissive. Dallas never really got going in this match and found itself on the wrong end of a hammering. Decision Day was what it was; here in the playoffs, Vancouver looked irrepressible and unplayable against the Texas club. It should have no problem finishing off this series in two games.

LAFC (3) vs. Austin (6) — 2-1

LAFC and Austin aren't exactly known for their free-flowing, expansive soccer, and indeed, both approached this match like they were trying to suck the life out of it. It was LAFC who succeeded in the end, thanks to a surprise Ryan Hollingshead goal in the first half and a delicate Nathan Ordaz tap-in in the second, but Austin did a great job snuffing out LAFC's striker pairing of Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-min. There's still plenty to play for in this match, especially with the series moving to Austin for Game 2.

Minnesota (4) vs. Seattle (5) — 0-0 (3-2 pks)

The man of the match in this hard-fought, rope-a-dope defensive battle was the crossbar of Minnesota's goal. It kept out two Seattle penalties in the end and that was enough to flip this game in the Loons' favor. (Shoutout to Minnesota goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, incidentally, who celebrated Seattle's crossbar penalties as if he'd saved them himself.)

Minnesota took Game 1 on the back of that awful shootout, but Seattle was the better team; it simply couldn't put the ball in the back of the net. That should change in Game 2, and a statement win from Seattle could flip this series decisively in the Washington team's favor. There's still plenty to play for here.

The MLS Playoffs will return for Matchday 2 on Saturday.