The team had the bye over the weekend and lost further ground in the competition, and now sits 10th on the table.
The Blues, scoring their third win a row when beating the Stormers 24-9, pushed ahead of the Highlanders and are inside the playoff positions.
But it is very close. The Sunwolves are last on the table, with two wins, and sitting on 10 points, and are only seven points off the fifth-placed Bulls.
So wins in a tightly congested table are going to be precious, and the Highlanders need to start stringing some victories together.
The side is set to take on the Hurricanes at Forsyth Barr Stadium this Friday night, and will then take on the Crusaders in Christchurch on April 12. The run of New Zealand games for the Highlanders will finish on Easter Saturday, April 20, against the Blues at Forysth Barr Stadium.
The Highlanders' past three games have produced two losses and a draw from the cancelled game against the Crusaders. A total of four points from three derby games is not what the Highlanders would have wanted, and they must do better in the next three matches.
The conference system and playing New Zealand sides twice leads to derby victories being extra vital.
After the selection shuffles in the first rounds for the Highlanders, coach Aaron Mauger and his assistants will want to get some consistency in the side and put out basically the same team for the next few weeks.
Coach Mauger has some big decisions ahead this week.
Does he stick with winger Waisake Naholo, who had a game to forget last match out? What is his preferred midfield pairing?
With Liam Squire out with injury, who starts on the blindside, and who is the preferred openside flanker? And who will wear the all-important No10 jersey?
With Aaron Smith out injured because of an ankle injury, the pressure will fall on halfbacks Kayne Hammington and Folau Fakatava to perform.
Fakatava is a player of promise, but only turned 19 in December, so it is a big ask for him to start in a crunch NZ derby.
The Highlanders will welcome getting back to the stadium. They have only played there once in the first month and a-half of the competition.
The Hurricanes will come to Dunedin in a similar position to the Highlanders. They are struggling to find their best game, but have the potential to go on a winning run.
The Hurricanes have yet to put together a complete performance, and made some costly errors in their 32-8 loss to the Crusaders in Wellington on Friday night.
The win by the Crusaders keeps the side on top of the table, and it should continue to be the top dog with a home match against the Brumbies in Christchurch this Saturday.
The Sunwolves answered their critics with a 31-29 win over the Waratahs in Newcastle on Friday night.
Former Otago and Highlanders first five-eighth Hayden Parker, in his 50th match at Super Rugby level, maintained a perfect goalkicking record for the season - 27 from 27 for the Sunwolves. Last year, Parker set the record of 38 in a row, missed one, then started his run of 27.
The Rebels beat the Reds 32-13, the Bulls pipped the Sharks 19-16 and the Chiefs just got home over the Jaguares 30-27.