PK’s NLL Power Rankings - Week 13
*Reminder these are Power Rankings. To see the Standings please head to NLL.com
1. Buffalo Bandits – 7-1 (Last Week: #1)
It was a busy weekend for the defending champions. A 13-12 win vs Toronto followed by a 14-13 OT loss to San Diego. In the same weekend, they reached their 16th straight win and their first loss since March 22nd 2024. As we said on our Monday show, it is no time to panic. It is very tough to win both games of a double-header weekend across the NLL. For as well as this team has played, there seem to be a few things that stand out that need to start to be addressed. First is the power play. They are 41% on the year, which is tied for 12th in the league. This weekend alone they went 5/13 or 39%. For as talented of a group as they have, they need to be better. The next are the penalties. While their PK is 4th in the league at 59%, they are averaging a league worst 24 PIMS a game. Now you might be thinking that this is just due to the major penalties they have taken this year in both the Toronto matches. Nevertheless, they are still 3rd in the league when it comes to how many PP chances they give opponents each game, which is 5.5 a game. The last concern are the injuries. The defense has already had to work overtime in these games when you add up the time on the PK. However, in back to back games they have lost a defender in game with Dylan Robinson going down Friday and Matt Spanger being lost for the season on a non-contact play on Saturday. They get a rematch vs San Diego on Saturday night to try to avoid the season sweep.
2. Saskatchewan Rush – 8-2 (Last Week: #2)
Another team with a busy weekend, but for this one, they sweep the weekend with wins. It started Friday night in Calgary. Down 9-7 at half, the Rush used a 6 goal 4th to take control of the game and head home with a 16-13 win. Saturday night, SAS took over the game in the 2nd with a 6 goal run to bring a 9-6 lead into half and close out the weekend with a 17-9 win over Rochester. They are the first team to 8 wins on the year and have the longest winning streak in the league at 4 games. They are 3rd in the league in scoring and 4th in goals allowed. We have said we are looking for another team that could threaten the Bandits for not just the #1 seed in these rankings, but can be a title contender come playoffs. If this team can remain healthy, with how well the team is constructed, it’s hard to imagine a finals right now that does not involve the Bandits vs the Rush. It does not get much easier though for SAS as their remaining 8 games come against teams all currently in a playoff position. They head to VAN on Friday before hosting a must watch main event next Saturday vs the Bandits.
3. Colorado Mammoth – 6-4 (Last Week: #3)
One of 2 teams enjoying a bye week in a very busy week 12 in the NLL. After starting the season 2-0, the Mammoth have alternated wins and losses as their record currently stands at 6-4. I have been very bullish on this team dating back to the offseason and in our preseason predictions. While they have been somewhat inconsistent, they are a team that no one will want to see come playoff time. 2 of their 4 losses were by 1 goal including the OT loss to Toronto a couple weeks ago. While they are currently sitting 3rd here in the rankings and 4th in the standings, they are a game out from falling down to 10th. That is how close this playoff race is. As we look forward, this Friday vs Vegas is a must win. Because the rest of their schedule is tough. They have Calgary and Saskatchewan twice, with Ottawa, Philly and Buffalo mixed in including 4 of 6 on the road to end the season. Fixing their special teams would go a long way with the Mammoth. Last in PP% and 13th on the PK.
4. Calgary Roughnecks – 6-4 (Last Week: #4)
Remaining at the #4 spot are the Roughnecks. Yet another team forced into a double-header weekend. Friday, Calgary took a 9-7 lead into half. However, they let the lead slip away with the Rush scoring 10 of the 14 goals in the 2nd half of the game. The team used that anger of the loss to pile it on vs Las Vegas as they win 21-8 in dominating fashion. The team is sitting 3rd in the standings and 2nd in goal scoring at 13.3 a game. They have 5 threats on offense to lead the way in Curtis Dickson, Jesse King, Dan Dobbie, Tyler Pace and Tanner Cook. Young Bennett Smith looks electric in the transition game. And Eli Salama is rounding back into the overall great defender we have known him to be. The issue remains in net due to just not knowing what you will get out of Cam MacLeod. I praised him last rankings saying how well he had played in their wins over Ottawa and Vancouver. And while the Rush have a great offense, performances like the one we saw out of MacLeod on Friday is a big reason why I could see Calgary being a one and done if they make it into playoffs. And that’s not a bad thing considering where we thought this team would be at the start of the season. If they believe this offense can carry them to a title, it might be worth calling around and seeing if a Riley Hutchcraft or a Cam Dunkerley could be moved. But if they are happy with where the team currently is, they need to ride MacLeod more to see what he has got in him. I thought they pulled the plug too early in the Rush game. Wish they would have went back to him earlier regardless. The rest of the schedule is tough for the Roughnecks. They get Rochester at home on Saturday but still have Buffalo and Colorado twice with San Diego, Saskatchewan, and Vegas left to go.
5. Halifax Thunderbirds – 5-4 (Last Week: #6)
The good times keep rolling in the nest for the birds as they sweep the season series over Philly with a 13-10 win to leapfrog the Wings in the standings. Halifax trailed 8-6 after 3, but used a 4 goal run to capture the lead along with another 3 goal run in the final 3 minutes of the game to take the victory. It was another great game by Ryan Terefenko who now has 8 goals in the last 3 games which all happen to be wins. The team has now won 5 of their last 6 games and have climbed up in the standings to the 6th seed. And a lot of that has to do with the play of Warren Hill. While he was pulled in their first win of the year and did not play in their 2nd. In the last 4 games he has a 9.75 GAA and a 79 sv%. If he can play even remotely close to the level he is at now, with the offense rolling like they have been (4th in the league), I could see the Thunderbirds sneaking up into one of the top 4 seeds and host a playoff game. They get an important game vs Ottawa on Friday in their 1st of 2 this year.
6. San Diego Seals – 5-5 (Last Week: #8)
To say they had a big weekend would be an understatement. After their epic 11-10 must win game over Toronto 2 weekends ago, they went into Banditland to face a team they had never beaten and got the job done to get back to .500 on the year. A 4-1 1st saw the team hold a 11-10 lead going into the final 15 of the game. With just 15 seconds left in the game, the Seals ran a play for Zach Currier who pin pointed a laser shot to tie the game with just 6 seconds remaining. After multiple stops by both goaltenders, a failed defensive shift by the Bandits led to Wes Berg all alone to score his 5th of the night to send the Seals home victorious and ended the Bandits 16 game winning streak. While they may have benefited from the Bandits coming off a hard rivalry game the night before, the Seals capitalized on the opportunity to get themselves right back into the playoff race. They may be sitting in 9th, but they are a game out of 3rd. The team may still has work to do to fix their issues, this was the most goals they have scored since December 13th in their game vs Colorado. San Diego will look to sweep the season series at home on Saturday night before heading into their final bye week of the year. After Buffalo, only 3 of their remaining 7 games are against teams currently in a playoff spot. I’d expect you see the Seals climbing up the ranks after their bye week.
7. Georgia Swarm – 5-4 (Last Week: #7)
The 2nd team to watch all the action this week are the Swarm who remain in the 7th spot for the 2nd straight week. However, this team is anything from consistent. After starting the season 4-0, they have dropped 4 of their last 5 with the only win coming vs the 2-8 Desert Dogs. And while they might be sitting in 5th in the standings, I don’t believe they will be there much longer. They have 5 teams right on their tail, so much so that if they were to drop their next game vs Toronto on Saturday, they could be looking on the outside of the playoff race. Brett Dobson has not been very good this year with an 11.97 GAA and a 75 sv%. They don’t have a player in the top 15 in scoring and only 2 players in the top 50. They don’t have a single player in the top 20 in Loose balls or Caused Turnovers. Before the season started I was worried that this team didn’t do enough to take that step forward. Those thoughts seem to be holding steady midway through their season. One of the lone bright spots has been the emergence of Toron Eccleston. Back to back 4 goal games have given the offense a spark we have not seen in years. The team plays every week the rest of the season. If they can sneak out 5 wins in that stretch they will be playoff bound. However, with how the season has been going, I might not take that bet.
8. Philadelphia Wings – 5-5 (Last Week: #5)
2 weeks ago I said that the month of February would be very important for telling how the rest of the season for the Wings would go. After starting the year blazing out to a 5-1 record. They have now dropped 3 straight including back to back vs Halifax after a 13-10 loss Saturday. A 4 goal to 1 3rd quarter saw the Wings take a 8-6 lead into the 4th. Halifax would score 4 straight to take the lead. 2 quick goals by Philly tied up the game with 3:56 to go. However, they’d concede 3 more to the Birds to drop their 4th in 5 games and fall back to .500 on the year. Unfortunately, the story from last year is repeating itself except there is a new man in net dealing with it. Nick Damude faced another 62 shots on net making 50 saves. If you read last weeks article you’d know that means he has now faced 58 or more shots in 8 of 10 games. The next 2 games may determine the rest of the season for the Wings. They have Albany on the road Saturday, a bye week, before then hosting the same Albany team. They also have Georgia on back-to-back weekend in April, Colorado, Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver left to go. The magic number to me is 10. That means a 5-3 finish to the season. They have the offense to do it. But the defense has to pick it up.
9. Vancouver Warriors – 5-5 (last Week: #11)
10. Ottawa Black Bears – 5-4 (Last Week: #12)
11. Rochester Knighthawks – 4-7 (Last Week: #9)
12. Toronto Rock – 3-7 (Last Week: #10)
13. Albany Firewolves – 2-8 (Last Week: #13)
14. Las Vegas Desert Dogs – 2-8 (Last Week: #14)