PK’s NLL Power Rankings - Week 17

*Reminder these are Power Rankings. To see the Standings please head to NLL.com

1.       Buffalo Bandits – 10-2 (Last Week: #2)

I stand by my decision to drop the Bandits down to #2 last week, just as I stand by my decision to bring them back up to the #1 spot this week. They got their revenge, 11-6 over the Roughnecks Saturday night in Calgary. They trailed 3-2 after 1, but used a 4-0 second to grab a lead they’d hold onto the rest of the game. Josh Byrne (3/3/6) and Kyle Buchanan (3/2/5) led the way, but it was the play of Matt Vinc making 44/50 saves that was the reason the Bandits walked away with the win. 17 blocked shots and 8 CTOs were also part of the big victory. They are still not a perfect team but they are doing just enough to remain top dogs of the league with a 3 game buffer. Hopefully with it being game 2 for Ron John and Kiel Matisz, they are able to push Ian MacKay back up top, put Clay Scanlan on the Bench and insert Zack Belter back into the lineup. They need to get the left side going before playoffs. In addition, this is a great weekend to do just that as they have Vegas at home on Friday and travel to Albany on Saturday. The team can clinch a playoff spot with a win and either a CAL or VAN Loss as well as just sweeping the weekend. They are also able to clinch a home playoff game by winning both games and having both GEO and SD lose. It will be a busy weekend for the Bandits, but come chill with us at Tap That Tap Room Saturday to win some prizes and cheer on the Bandits.

2.       Halifax Thunderbirds – 8-5 (Last Week: #4)

They deserve the #2 spot in the rankings after their 17-9 thrashing of the Rush. The game was tied for just 1:14 before the Birds would score and never look back building up an 11-goal lead at one point. The team welcomed back a sick Randy Staats (3/2/5) who missed last week’s loss to the Rock. It was also the best game of the season for Clarke Petterson who scored 3 in his 9 point night. 8 total players scored in this one with 6 of those 8 recording multiple goal games. It was great to see the team go right back to Warren Hill after a shaky start last week but he rewarded them making 39/48 saves in the victory. The team has won 6 of 7 and 8 of 10 since they started the season 0-3. They might be the hottest team in the league. The only concern is are they hitting their stride to early? This team has been known to fade down the stretch and into the playoffs. They get Ottawa at home this week on Friday night before wrapping up the season with Georgia, San Diego, Buffalo and Toronto.

3.       Saskatchewan Rush – 10-4 (Last Week: #1)

The title reign lasted just a week after the Rush were upended by the Thunderbirds Friday night 17-9. And in my humble opinion, that score line is closer than the game was. The game was 9-2 after just 1 and 12-4 at half before Halifax would go up by 10 with 15 minutes to go in the game. Getting Robert Church (1/2/3) back in the lineup was a nice added boost, but in the end had very little effect on the outcome of the game. Ryan Keenan led all scorers with a 4-point night but only put 2 shots on net. While Zach Manns was completely shut down chipping in just 1 assist. It was also a disaster on the back end with only 2 blocked shots to their name while allowing 6 Halifax players to pump in multi goal nights. Neither goalie had any luck in the game combining for 36/53 saves or a 68 sv%. Sometimes teams just don’t match up well with one another. And that seems to be the case here. Although the season series resulted in a split, game one they also only scored 9 goals against Halifax. The Rush still hold the #2 spot in the standings, but the difference has dropped down to just 1.5 games. They get some added rest this week before finishing with Colorado twice, Calgary and Ottawa.

4.       Colorado Mammoth – 8-5 (Last Week: #6)

I’ll be completely honest. We talked about it on the Monday show and I’m still not sure. How does this team, nearly every single year, lose star players and continue to be a wagon. It happened when they won the title in 2022 when they were down Eli McLaughlin and Ryan Lee. And it happened Saturday afternoon winning without Zed Williams and McLaughlin handing Philly their 6th straight loss in a 10-8 score. The Mammoth would lead 6-2 early in the 3rd before the Wings would go on a 5 goal run to take a 7-6 lead. However, Colorado scored 4 of the final 5 goals including 2 of Ryan Lee’s 4 at 1:14 and 33 seconds left in the game. Dillon Ward led the charge on the back end making 33/41 saves in the victory to get the team to 8-5 on the season and in the 3rd spot in the standings. But a big reason the team won this one was actually something they didn’t do. They stayed out of the box. The Wings are the best team on the PP in the league. Although the Mammoth committed 3 penalties, all 3 came in the 1st quarter of the game. When you are missing the big name pieces that they are, you can’t give the opponent chances to burn you. The Mammoth did a great job of playing a clean game. This week they get Ottawa on their back to back before a gauntlet of a finish. SAS twice with Buffalo and Calgary mixed in. That means Sunday is a must win to get their 9th win and try and secure a playoff spot.

5.       San Diego Seals – 7-6 (Last Week: #7)

Back over .500 for the first time since they were 3-2 after their 20-11 win over Vegas on Sunday. And it helps when you start the game on a 7-0 run. The team held an 11 goal lead going into the 4th quarter as this game was never close. Rob Hellyer (6/6/12) and Wes Berg (6/6/12) were simply unstoppable in this game while Jake Govett chipped in 3 of his own and Ryan Benesch threw out 9 helpers. Chris Origlieri had a nice relaxing night making 29/38 saves before resting the final 7:31 of the game. The team has now won 4 of 5 games and appear to be getting healthy and hitting their stride at the perfect time. Although there is more work to be done, this are sitting in 6th in the standings. Georgia holds the tie breaker over them after sweeping their season series, but the Seals hold it over Colorado and still have Halifax to come on the schedule. Big change from when they were sitting 3-5 a few weeks ago. The team heads to Calgary on Saturday night with a chance to push them outside of the playoffs with a win and a Vancouver Win. 10 wins secures a spot in the playoffs. They have Rochester and then 2 games vs ALB to finish the season. Go 3-2 down the stretch and punch your ticket to the dance.

6.       Calgary Roughnecks – 7-7 (Last Week: #3)

Dropping down 3 might be a bit harsh after losing to the top team in the league. But alas, that is where we stand after their 11-6 loss at home in front of nearly 17k fans. I thought the defense played very well in front of Nick Rose once again. The goals Buffalo scored were high skill plays that you just have to tip your hat too. However, the offense looked completely out of sorts and nothing like the one we saw last week. They inserted Dane Dobbie (2/0/2) and it started great netting 2 PP goals. But nothing much came after that scoring just 3 goals in the final 49:33 of the game. Another thing that killed their offense was losing Tyler Pace in the first quarter. They were already running with just 3 righties so losing Pace dropped them to 2. Sitting 7-7 is way better than I thought they’d be coming into the season. But with games against San Diego, Saskatchewan, and Colorado still to go, they need to steal one of those games as well as beat LV in a couple weeks to get to 9-9 and hope it’s enough. It’s a massive game vs the Seals on Saturday. A loss and a Vancouver win will see them outside of the playoffs looking in.

7.       Rochester Knighthawks – 8-7 (Last Week: #8)

Okay. I admit I am probably lower than most on Rochester. Probably lower than I should be to be honest. They have scored 39 goals in their last 2 games and are averaging 15.33 in their last 6. They have won 4 straight including their 18-8 win over Ottawa on Saturday afternoon. If you can believe it, ROC was actually trailing in this game. But then they went on a 6 goal run to take a 7-3 lead into the 2nd before 7 goal run which gave them an 11 goal lead. Connor Fields was incredible scoring 5 in his 10 point night. Ryan Lanchbury chipped in 7 assists while 9 players go on the score sheet. Rylan Hartley had his best game of his season making 49/57 saves in net. If you removed Jeff Teat and Larson Sundown from the equation, they allowed Ottawa to go 3/38 shooting. Jacob Dunbar and Taggart Clark were 0/17 themselves. That is fantastic work from the defense in this victory. With just 3 games remaining on their schedule they are still in the thick of the playoff race even with 8 wins. That is due to playing the most amount of games, which has been the case all year long. The benefit of that though is the rest they get at the end of the season. They are off this week before hosting their final 3 games vs San Diego next week followed by Ottawa and Toronto with another bye mixed in. This is not a team you want to see in a 1 game series.

8.       Georgia Swarm: 7-6 (Last Week: #5)

After a hard fought loss last week vs SAS to keep them in the top 4 of the standings, an 11-10 loss to ALB drops them to 8th in the Rankings. Of their 13 games, 8 have been decided by 1 goal and they are now 4-4 in those games. What is most frustrating is how close they are to being a top team in the league but also how close they are to being out of the playoffs all together. And it all goes back to consistent goal scoring. Shayne Jackson has completely turned his season around and led the way in this one going 3/3/6. However, the lack of depth scoring continues to kill this team. Lyle Thompson (2/1/3) is tied for 12th in the league in points and tied for 8th in goals. Bryan Cole is tied for 22nd. And then you have to scroll down to 41st to find the next. It is exactly the same as I have said about this team for years. If you are not going to have a guy in the top 3-4 in scoring, you need 3-4 guys in the top 35. They don’t have it and that’s why you are seeing so many low scoring 1 goal games. And you have to start feeling for Brett Dobson at some point. 11.10 GAA and 77 sv% should be a better record than the 7-6 he has. The team travels to a must win in Vancouver. A loss has a chance to drop them from the 5th seed to a spot outside looking in.

9.       Vancouver Warriors – 6-7 (Last Week: #11)

10.   Albany Firewolves – 5-9 (Last Week: #13)

11.   Toronto Rock – 4-9 (Last Week: #9)

12.   Ottawa Black Bears – 5-7 (Last Week: #10)

13.   Philadelphia Wings – 5-8 (Last Week: #12)

14. Las Vegas Desert Dogs – 3-11 (Last Week: #14)