One of Major League Soccer’s ongoing struggles is creating best-case balance between regular season relevance and the playoffs, that far shorter window of matches that ultimately means so much. We can have the “regular season relevance” debate, but make sure this is part of it: There are eight teams today who wish they had done more in the regular season; they stand outside the postseason velvet ropes as the playoffs begin this evening.

And there are eight other teams who are in the playoffs, but who woke up this morning wishing they had also done more. Everyone fights hard to avoid this early, one match, single-elimination round, and this eight-some didn’t.

Here, then, is a quick look at each team playing Wednesday or Thursday as Major League Soccer’s 20th playoff season gets started:

(The New York Red Bulls and Columbus in the East, and FC Dallas and Vancouver in the West have first-round byes; they begin their respective, conference semifinal series on Sunday.)

Eastern Conference

#3 (seed) Montreal Impact

Why they might go all the way: Didier Drogba! No MLS scorer is hotter; he has 11 goals in 11 games since summer arrival. No player has scored more big goals than the former Ivory Coast captain, a Champions League winner and four-time Premier League winner. And no player in MLS right now can inspire more confidence, which is why Montreal, practically giddy for it all, is suddenly a popular dark horse favorite to win the whole shebang.

Why they might not: They have to get past presumptive league MVP Sebastian Giovinco straight away. And the Impact’s outstanding central defender, Laurent Ciman, can occasionally let his emotions spill over. The Belgian standout was cautioned eight times this year and ejected three times. Without Ciman, the back line looks pretty ordinary.

SEE MORE: The neutral’s guide to MLS’s Eastern Conference playoffs.

#4 D.C. United

Why they might go all the way: No team grinds like Ben Olsen’s spunky bunch. It worked over the front half of the season, with a big assist from goalkeeper Bill Hamid and his heroic shot-stopping. And … uh … no, that’s about it.

Why they might not: The distribution of “spunk” needs to improve; they used too much over the first two-thirds of the season! Olsen’s team led the East in early August with a 13-7-5 record (44 pts) before things seriously fell off the table. United went 2-6-1 the rest of the way, collecting just seven of a possible 27 points. The attack was bad and, by the final day, the defense was awful. Or maybe you didn’t see the pile of garbage United put on the field in a 5-0 loss to Columbus to close the season?

SEE MORE: Beckerman, Jones, Borchers highlight WST’s MLS All-Hair Team.

#5 New England Revolution

Why they might go all the way: Jay Heaps’ team need only think back on last year’s mighty playoff run for inspiration. Driven by Lee Nguyen’s sizzling form and emboldened by Jermaine Jones’ unflinching pluck, they blew through the first round and then topped New York in the conference finals, landing in the MLS Cup final.

Why they might not: Early in 2015, Nguyen got tangled up in his own clumsy contract interests and never quite became the same midfield dynamo. Jones, 33 and fighting back twice from injury, never quite became the same midfield blockade. Last year’s “mighty” became this year’s “meh.”

#6 Toronto FC

Why they might go all the way: Considering the ongoing quality elevation of MLS, there has probably never been a season assembled like the one we just saw from Sebastian Giovinco. The Italian international claimed the Golden Boot, and his official acceptance of this year’s MVP award is surely ahead. They also have U.S. internationals Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore; both have had their moments in MLS this year.

Why they might not: They have to get by red hot Montreal right way, so the Reds first tippy toe into the postseason could conceivably last exactly 90 minutes. And can we talk about that back line? Ooof. No playoff team has allowed more goals (58) than TFC.

Western Conference

#3 Portland Timbers

Why they might go all the way: Talk about getting the formations and roles just right, and right on time. Portland finished with 10 goals in three consecutive wins. Darlington Nagbe was the big beneficiary (or perhaps the catalyst to it all), punctuating the regular season with his best performance as Portland warmed up for the playoffs by thumping Colorado. Speaking of thumping, they did the same a couple of weeks back to Los Angeles, 5-2. In Los Angeles!

Why they might not: The finishing has been superb lately. Before that? Well, let’s be polite and go with “something less than superb.” Caleb Porter’s team scored just seven times in the nine matches prior to that (season-saving?) win over LA. If that hot mess of bad finishing re-infiltrates Providence Park …

SEE MORE: The neutral’s guide to MLS’s Western Conference playoffs.

#4 Seattle Sounders

Why they might go all the way: When they are “on,” there is no better one-two punch in MLS like Obafemi Martins and Clint Dempsey, who have combined for a sensational 57 goals over two seasons. When building a defense, center back Chad Marshall and goalkeeper Stefan Frei, now 29 and building into his best self, are great places to start.

Why they might not: For everything Dempsey has been to club and country through his career, injuries and general wear and tear seem to be catching up. If “Deuce” finds that extra gear, look out. But Sigi Schmid’s bunch is so heavily dependent on the Martins-Dempsey duo, the attack starts looking pretty ordinary when the reduced Dempsey shows up. Elsewhere, Osvaldo Alonso isn’t quite the force he was for so many years, and he’s questionable for Wednesday.

#5 LA Galaxy

Why they might go all the way: Between Robbie Keane, Steven Gerrard, Giovani dos Santos, Juninho and Omar Gonzalez, no MLS team comes close to the Galaxy in collective experience in the big occasion. That counts. So does history; LA has three of the last four MLS Cup titles. Oh, and “The Bruce!” Manager Bruce Arena has an MLS playoff success rate like no other.

Why they might not: Robbie Keane’s outstanding playoff CV notwithstanding (nine goals, six assists in 17 MLS post-season contests), it’s difficult to like the Galaxy right now. They can’t figure out what to do with Gerrard, who looks completely worn, nor with a Dos Santos, who has little chemistry with Keane despite two months of efforts. The Galaxy come laboring into the playoffs with one win in seven matches. All that, plus Donovan Ricketts in goal isn’t concerning too many opponents these days.

SEE MORE: Knockout round capsules: Previewing the four mis-week playoff matchups.

#6 Sporting Kansas City

Why they might go all the way: Benny Feilhaber wore down somewhat in the season’s back half, but he’s clearly still got something left, orchestrating a terrific game-winner in Sunday’s closing win over LA. His 10 goals and 15 assists were easily career bests. As for his playmaking targets: Dom Dwyer and Krisztian Németh (a combined 22 goals) are both absolute handfuls.

Why they might not: The highs were sky high for the U.S. Open Cup champs, but the valleys ran low, too. Hard to pinpoint what went wrong in spurts for Peter Vermes’ team, other than U.S. internationals Graham Zusi and Matt Besler looking curiously pedestrian at times. Whatever the deal was, that’s why they may not go far.