Number One in the NLL Once Again – Playoff Primer
The Buffalo Bandits defeated the Albany Firewolves 16-10 on Saturday night. If the Bandits had lost the game, the San Diego Seals would have clinched home field advantage throughout playoffs and the number one seed in the NLL. Luckily for Bandits fans, we do not have to worry about that.
This game felt more like a tune up for playoffs than a mid-season battle. It was a game that the Bandits wanted to win. It was not meaningless by any means but to Albany it essentially was. The Firewolves kept the game close early on and put up a fight, until they didn’t. The biggest takeaways from this game are the confidence levels of certain players and the team headed into playoffs.
Chris Cloutier came into the game on a two game goal drought. Although we were not worried about him, it was great to see him score four goals. Cloutier is a critical part of the left side of the offense and if he is rolling it frees up space for Josh Byrne as well. Chase Fraser playing in his third game in a row is also gaining confidence. He scored his second consecutive hat trick and is playing in mid-season form. Lastly, the transition game was moving very well in this game. Another aspect of the offense and team that is going to need to be at its best come playoff time.
Buffalo vs Rochester –
It is officially playoff time! The Buffalo Bandits are not quite at New England Patriot levels, where we essentially do not care about the season and just want to skip to playoffs, but they are close. Through a lot of injuries and adversity, the Bandits were able to secure home field advantage throughout the playoffs. This means that the Rochester Knighthawks will be traveling to Buffalo for round one of the playoffs. In this round it is a one and done scenario. I don’t love it, I don’t hate it but either way it is a bit scary. As we recently learned with the Boston Bruins, anything can happen in playoffs (I am talking too much about Boston based teams).
Rochester finished the season with a 10-8 record after starting the season 6-0. Rochester went 1-5 in their last six games. They are not exactly coming into the playoffs on a high note. The former Buffalo Bandit, Connor Fields, led the team with 52 goals, 60 assists for 112 points. After Fields, they have a solid mix of offensive players with Holden Cattoni (84 points), Ryan Smith (75 points), and Curtis Knight (57 points). One of the more interesting aspects of this game is Fields performance in playoffs. Fields, and the rest of the Bandits offense, disappeared last year in playoffs. If the Bandits can eliminate Fields in a physical playoff game, I believe the Rochester offense will struggle. They have plenty of other talent but Fields is their go to guy.
Rylan Hartley and the Rochester defense in the last seven games have given up an average of 13 goals per game. Five of the seven games were against teams with a record under .500. In the first game against Buffalo this season, Hartley allowed 12 goals while making a solid 44 saves. In the second game, he allowed 13 goals and made 42 saves. Both games for Hartley were very consistent. If he stands on his head, he could give the Bandits offense some trouble and allow Rochester to stay in the game. This will be the Rochester expansion team’s first playoff series as a franchise.
Toronto vs Halifax
I think this game could be more interesting than it seems on paper. The Halifax Thunderbirds are a team with a lot of offensive talent. In their last six games, they are averaging 13.6 goals per game. This includes a 14-12 victory over the Toronto Rock on March 18th (thank you for beating them Halifax). I think Toronto is simply the more talented team of the two and will be able to win this game. However, Halifax is also riding a lot of momentum after a playoff type game this past weekend against the Georgia Swarm. If Halifax had lost, they would not have made playoffs. On the other side, Toronto had the week off. I do wonder if Halifax coming off an incredible game and playoff type atmosphere might be able to get an early jump on Toronto. If Halifax can stick around after the first half, I think it could be anyone’s game.
The West –
I do not know as much about the West or currently care as much because the Bandits have the East to worry about first. However, the matchups are interesting. The number one seed in the West, the San Diego Seals, will take on the four seed Colorado Mammoth. This will be a rematch of the Western Division finals from last season. The Seals defeated Colorado this past weekend by a score of 11-8. I do not think the Mammoth have what it takes this year to beat the Seals but the rivalry is there. The two seed Calgary Roughnecks will take on the three seed Panther City Lacrosse Club. These two teams met in Calgary’s final regular season game two weeks ago. Calgary was able to pull off a very close 13-12 victory setting up another interesting first round matchup. It will be Panther City Lacrosse Club’s first playoff series as a franchise.
Predictions –
Bandits win 14-10
Rock win 13-11
Seals win 12-9
Roughnecks win 12-11
There you have it folks. The march to May is officially upon us. Nothing that happened during the regular season matters anymore. For the Bandits, they have been tested and found different ways to win throughout the entire year. After what happened last season, finally getting healthy, and rolling into playoffs on a win streak, this may be the most battle tested and prepared Bandits team we have seen in a while. We know they have what it takes to win it all. Can they do it? Only time will tell. It all starts against Rochester!