Edmonton's Fred Stamps, right, is in the midst of his best stretch of the season, posing a test for Darren Toney and the rest of the B.C. defence. (Jimmy Jeong/Canadian Press)

The winner is in and the loser must wait and see. The B.C. Lions host the Edmonton Eskimos on Friday night to help determine the CFL playoff picture.

Visiting Edmonton (8-9) have lost both games against the Lions this season and are just 1-7 in their last eight visits to BC Place.

The Lions (8-9) have lost two in a row, threatening to put them out of the post-season for the first time since 1996.

The two teams have combined for 127 points in their two meetings, putting the defences on the spot.

The winner of Friday's game will next week travel to Regina or Calgary, pending the outcome of Saturday's clash between the Roughriders and Stampeders.

The loser could still get in if Hamilton defeats Winnipeg on Sunday, and would cross over to the East playoffs and play the Tiger-Cats on the road next week.

While the Lions have lost the last two, quarterback Casey Printers has shown flashes of the form that saw him win league outstanding player honours in 2004.

Printers has thrown for 676 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, good numbers considering he hadn't seen meaningful game action in over a year.

Printers also showed in last week's loss to Calgary that he's getting his legs back, rushing for 10 yards a pop on four attempts.

Edmonton defensive back Kelly Malveaux said on Wednesday it will require a total defensive effort to thwart the versatile quarterback.

"If our front [seven] is getting after him like we're anticipating them doing we have to do what we have to do on the back end," said Malveaux. "[Even] if we have to cover for six or seven seconds, we need to do that and just step up to the challenge."

While Edmonton's defensive linemen and linebackers will look to contain Printers, there will also be pivotal battles in the trenches when the Eskimos have the ball.

Ricky Foley has a league-leading 12 sacks to lead the B.C. pass rush, but Edmonton has surrendered just 29 sacks this season, second best in the league.

Arkee Whitlock and the rest of the Eskimos have been stifled trying to establish a ground game against B.C. in the two games this year, something that will have to change for the team to advance without worry.

The Lions have sorted out their kicking issue after a period of uncertainty. Veteran Paul McCallum has connected on all 12 field goal attempts in four games since returning to action after being benched for some subpar July efforts.

Battle will feature top receivers

The game will feature the two leading pass catchers from the West. Fred Stamps of the Edmonton Eskimos has caught 79 passes and leads the league with 1,300 receiving yards, with Geroy Simon of the B.C. Lions not far behind with 77 receptions and 1,219 yards.

Stamps has completed his most productive four-game stretch. He's hauled in 24 passes over the stretch, for 434 yards and two touchdowns.

He has prospered from the improved play of quarterback Ricky Ray.

Ray has thrown just three interceptions in his last nine games after some turnover issues over the first half of the season.

The quarterback was much more effective in his second game against the Lions than the first, throwing for 323 yards and two touchdowns, completing 63 per cent of his passes while avoiding an interception.

With the Lions having no chance of hosting a playoff game, Friday's game will be the last at BC Place for some time.

The Lions will play next year in a temporary facility at the Empire Stadium site while a retractable roof is constructed at BC Place in time for the 2011 season, which will end with Vancouver hosting the Grey Cup.