The NLL Division Final matchups are now set, with the Edmonton Rush (16-2) taking on the Calgary Roughnecks (12-6) in the West and the Rochester Knighthawks (14-4) facing the Buffalo Bandits (8-10) in the East. So how do these teams stack up against each other?
In the West Division, the Calgary Roughnecks have moved on to the next round of the playoffs after earning a 16-15 overtime win against the Colorado Mammoth last weekend. They’ll be facing their provincial rivals, the Edmonton Rush, in their two-game Division Final series.
The Rush and Roughnecks faced each other four times during the regular season, with Edmonton taking the first three games and Calgary handing the Rush their second loss of the season in the second-last week of the schedule. In that four game set, Edmonton had a massive goals advantage, outscoring the Roughnecks by a combined 58-40 margin, an average per game score of 14.5-10.
Calgary’s lone victory over Edmonton this year was by a single goal—in overtime, no less—while Edmonton’s wins were all by four or more so, not surprisingly, it looks like the Rush have the distinct advantage.
There are a couple factors working in Calgary’s favor. The first is that they are coming into this series on a hot streak. They have now won seven of their last eight games, including three in a row and, with their victory last weekend, they’ve got momentum working for them. Additionally, this current winning streak began with their defeat of the Rush, which should give them confidence that the Edmonton juggernaut is beatable.
In Edmonton’s favor, Calgary’s last two losses were both against the Rush and they were both beat-downs. Edmonton is rested after their first round bye and might be able to use that extra energy to blow out the Roughnecks once again. In Edmonton’s three wins against Calgary this year, they were clearly the superior team, which will make them very tough to beat in this playoff round.
In the East Division, the Rochester Knighthawks are geared up for their series against the Buffalo Bandits, who punched their ticket to the second round with a 15-13 win over the Toronto Rock last weekend.
Buffalo stumbled into the postseason this year, losing their last eight regular season games—a franchise record—and looked like a team ready to fold up tent and go home. They finally showed signs of life once again with the big win over the Rock.
The K’Hawks won the season series over the Bandits 3-1, with Buffalo’s lone victory being a one-goal win in their first matchup back on January 25. Since then the two teams have been headed in opposite directions, with Rochester getting hotter and Buffalo struggling.
In the four games these teams played against each other this year, Rochester outscored Buffalo by a combined 43-35 margin, with an average score of 10.75-8.75. Although the average margin of victory in this set of games was closer than that of the Calgary-Edmonton series, a two-goal advantage still outs Rochester in the driver’s seat.
Working for Buffalo right now is that they’ve finally got the monkey off their back after last week’s playoff win. That momentum swing might be enough to get them back on track.
Rochester, however, has only lost two games in a row once this year, and that was three months ago. They won five in a row to end the regular season, nine of their last 10, and faced the Bandits in their last two games, winning both.
The Knighthawks look to be on a roll and Buffalo might be a mere bump in their road to a third straight Champion’s Cup.
