The 2008 New England Patriots. The 2013 Denver Outlaws. The 2014-15 University of Kentucky’s Men’s Basketball. What does all these teams have in common? All of them achieved a perfect regular season. The New York Lizards had a chance to add their name to this prestigious list when they went undefeated through the first half of the 2015 season.
However, following the All-Star game and a couple bad defeats at the hands of two cellar teams, people are beginning to wonder: what happened to the Lizards? How could a team that made a blockbuster trade prior to the season to pick up Paul Rabil, the best lacrosse player in the MLL, be having trouble? Well, the absence of Rabil and the lack of offense on man-up opportunities are the reasons for New York’s two-game losing streak.
No one can deny the fact that Rabil is the best lacrosse player to date, and his impact on the Lizards this season is evidently large. In the eight games he has played this year, Rabil is third on the team in goals with 21, two of which were two-point goals, and second in points with 38. If you average his goals, Rabil would have just over two goals per game, which may not seem like a lot, but when you look at the margin of goals over the last two games, suddenly those two goals very well could’ve changed the outcome. The Lizards, though they try to say their team is still as good without Rabil, have to come to the realization that he means a lot to them. Now with the perfect season out of the question, the Lizards don’t have to rush Paul’s return and can rest him so he is ready for the playoffs.
Of course, the other issue worth noting is the Lizards’ lack of ability to capitalize on power play opportunities. Just to put this in perspective, the total number of power play goals this season for the Lizards is six. SIX!!!! Over the last month, the Lizards were 2 for 15 on power plays. Power plays are one of the easiest ways for teams to score goals because it means they have one more player than the other team on the field and that player may be open to take a shot and score. The Lizards were lucky the first half of the season other teams didn’t take advantage of their poor power play offense, but now the Charlotte Hounds and Florida Launch have exploited that weakness and came out with victories. This is an issue that will need to be addressed before the playoffs.
With Rabil set to return, many eyes will be on him to see whether or not he plays like he did prior to getting injured. If the coaching staff was smart, they would limit Rabil’s playing time until the playoffs. There is no reason to risk another injury for Rabil since there isn’t a perfect season. Of course, the Lizards need to find a player that will improve their power play offense. If they can find success in that area, then the Lizards have a good chance of winning the championship.
