Week 21 Results: Beat Buffalo 14-11
Quarterfinal Opponent: @ Saskatchewan (Saturday, 9:30 p.m. ET)
Previous Ranking: Unranked
Just as the NLL has taught us repeatedly throughout the season, a winning streak can become a spiral in an instant and vice versa. The Swarm were on a nosedive with back-to-back losses to Philadelphia and five losses in the team’s six previous games before finishing the regular season against Buffalo. Georgia has been one of the league’s most enigmatic teams this season, boasting an early-season four-game winning streak and later stumbling to two different three-game losing streaks. The Swarm live on a razor’s edge, playing as many one-goal games as any team in the league. Georgia went 5-4 in one-goal games this season, meaning that only a handful of bounces separate them from a record as impressive as 13-5 and as underwhelming as 4-14.
The range of possibilities for the Swarm is staggering, but the group found enough in the tank to beat Buffalo with its season on the line. Andrew Kew was masterful with an eight-point game, and Brett Dobson was effective, if unspectacular. The formula for the Swarm to potentially make some noise in the playoffs is simple: big performances from Kew and Lyle Thompson blended with good-to-great goaltending from Dobson. Georgia has shown the ability to stack those items together occasionally, but not consistently. Saturday’s trip to Saskatoon will be a rematch of one of the tensest games of the season that Saskatchewan won 8-7 on March 8.
Week 21 Results: Beat Albany 11-10
Quarterfinal Opponent: @ Buffalo (Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET)
Previous Ranking: Unranked
There were two separate occasions in which the Seals trailed Albany by four goals on Friday night, seemingly destined to finish their disappointing final month with a season-ending defeat. The game pivoted on Wesley Berg’s put-back goal with one second remaining in the first half. That moment of heroism sparked a greater sense of optimism down the Seals’ bench and throughout Pechanga Arena. While the first half was dominated by Albany, San Diego slowly wrestled control of the game away from the FireWolves, who ended the Seals’ season a year ago in the NLL Semifinals.
When the Seals have struggled this year, it has generally coincided with a lack of inspiration and intensity. Berg, the team’s unquestioned MVP, has made a habit in the season’s second half of dragging his team into the fight. While they may have snuck into the playoffs, having lost three of their final four games, the Seals are still one of the league’s most talented and dangerous groups. They are an exceptionally dangerous opponent in the one-and-done quarterfinal format. Lacrosse fans will be blessed on Friday night with a rubber match between the Seals and Bandits, who played and split two instant classics in mid-February. One note of intrigue: Buffalo’s 13-12 win in San Diego on February 22 came in the absence of San Diego multi-purpose star, Zach Currier, who was away from the team expecting the birth of his first child. One week prior, Currier authored the game-tying shot that forced overtime in Banditland. Clear your schedule Friday night, this one will be must-watch viewing.
CALGARY, AB – APRIL 19, 2025: The Calgary Roughnecks against the Colorado Mammoth at Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday. (Photo by Jenn Pierce/NLL)
Week 21 Results: Beat Las Vegas 12-9/Beat Colorado 11-5
Quarterfinal Opponent: @ Halifax (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET)
Previous Ranking: 6th
The acquisition of goaltender Nick Rose at the trade deadline has proven to be one of the league’s two most impactful moves this year. Rose has changed the dynamic in Calgary, anchoring the back end and liberating offensive savants Jesse King and Curtis Dickson to play freely out the front door without fear or pressure to out-score a struggling defense. The Roughnecks swept their weekend games to punch their ticket into the postseason. While Calgary hasn’t been a “loud” team per se, the group has been exceedingly dangerous since the beginning of March. The Roughnecks won four of six to conclude the regular season, including road wins over Buffalo and Saskatchewan—the team’s only losses in that span came at the hands of fellow playoff teams Buffalo and San Diego.
In an unconventional split, the Roughnecks have been vastly more effective away from home, posting a 7-2 road record, while both scoring more and conceding less on average. Something about the culture that Josh Sanderson has built in his second year as Calgary’s head coach has made the resilient group particularly well-equipped to win in tough environments. That history of success is going to be put to the test on Saturday when the Roughnecks put their season on the line in one of the most hostile road environments in the league. They visit Halifax in a rematch of an early-season thriller that saw Calgary win in the Nest in an 18-17 scoring bonanza.
Week 21 Results: Lost to Toronto 11-10
Quarterfinal Opponent: @ Vancouver (Saturday, 10 p.m. ET)
Previous Ranking: 3rd
For six weeks, the Knighthawks were arguably the NLL’s hottest and most dangerous team. Ultimately, the team’s loss to Toronto in Week 21 didn’t matter, as Vancouver beat Philadelphia to clinch first-round home floor advantage over Rochester. The Knighthawks would be in precisely the same situation had they won, albeit maybe feeling a little bit better about themselves. Even in the face of their season-ending loss, the Knighthawks should be feared as a dangerous opponent, paced by profoundly explosive scoring from their big three of Connor Fields, Ryan Smith and Ryan Lanchbury. Fields will likely be an MVP finalist—if not the eventual winner of the award—and has shown a habit of playing his best in big games. Smith is arguably the league’s second-best scorer behind Jeff Teat, but still seems to be perennially underrated.
In a quarterfinal slate that is full of compelling matchups, Rochester barnstorming into Vancouver to face the streaking Warriors might be the most intriguing. If the Knighthawks are going to avoid another first-round exit, their success will hinge on the team’s ability to control the loose ball battle and manufacture as many second-chances as possible to both pepper Christian Del Bianco and limit the pressure on their own goaltender. Playoff games don’t get more exciting than this one.
MISSISSAUGA, CANADA – APRIL 18: the NLL regular season game between the Halifax Thunderbirds and the Toronto Rock at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre on April 18, 2025 in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Christian Bender/NLL)
Week 21 Results: Beat Toronto 16-9
Quarterfinal Opponent: vs. Calgary (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET)
Previous Ranking: 5th
After a 2-4 start, the Thunderbirds won nine of their final dozen games to clinch home-floor advantage in the quarterfinals for the first time. This is a massive boost to both the team and the market in Halifax, as the lacrosse-crazy fanbase has been longing for this moment since the team’s arrival. Randy Staats and Clarke Petterson each eclipsed the 100-point threshold in Week 21 against Toronto, handing Staats his first career 100-point season. Somehow, the impact that Staats has had on Halifax’s offense this year still isn’t adequately represented by his career-best point total. Staats is consistently the most dynamic and creative player on the floor, which was brilliantly on display three weeks ago when the Thunderbirds locked up a statement win over San Diego. Staats can manipulate a defense at a level matched by very few players in the league.
The T-Birds also boast a robust back end, led by Jake Withers, Graeme Hossack and Ryan Terefenko. Withers and Terefenko give Halifax one of the most dangerous transition duos in the league, creating instant offense at a moment’s notice. Whether or not the Thunderbirds can make a run in this year’s playoffs will be decided between the pipes. What has been an inconsistent season for the goaltending has seemingly settled in recent weeks, with Drew Hutchison taking control of the job after entering in relief of Warren Hill against San Diego on April 5. If Hutchison can be a steadfast presence between the pipes, it unlocks the other robust aspects of Halifax’s roster. The T-Birds draw Calgary on Saturday night.
Week 21 Results: Beat Ottawa 16-7
Quarterfinal Opponent: vs. Georgia (Saturday, 9:30 p.m.)
Previous Ranking: 4th
The Rush rode a tremendously successful first half of the season into a top-two playoff spot, despite winning just four of seven from the start of March to the end of the regular season. Saskatchewan made a nice statement by exploding for 11 straight goals to pull away from Ottawa over the weekend, clinching a second consecutive win for the first time in almost two months. Offensively, the Rush received contributions from eight different goal scorers en route to a 16-goal outburst. The Rush are at their best offensively when no individual player is relied upon too heavily. Saskatchewan needs to be hyper-physical on defense and dynamically balanced on offense to channel the group’s form from January and February when it won six of seven and beat four playoff teams in a row.
Frank Scigliano may end up winning his first Goaltender of the Year award, but his historical struggles in the playoffs will need to be corrected if the Rush are going to make a run. There is every reason to think that Scigliano has turned the corner, but until we see it with our own eyes, his playoff history will offer reason for concern. One player who could make an outsized impact in the quarterfinals is defender Matt Hossack, who has taken his game to another level this season in his return to Saskatchewan. Hossack is a stout and dynamic defender, capable of earning the Rush four or five extra possessions against Georgia on Saturday.
Week 21 Results: Lost to Georgia 14-11
Quarterfinal Opponent: vs. San Diego (Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET)
Previous Ranking: 1st
It may feel blasphemous to rank the two-time defending champs anywhere other than the top spot entering the playoffs, but here we are. Buffalo’s placement in the rankings is less a statement of Buffalo’s shortcomings and more a statement of Vancouver’s remarkable ascent. The Bandits still boast the league’s best duo in Dhane Smith and Josh Byrne. However, one item lost in the team’s success is the fact that those two players combined for nearly half of the team’s total points. That’s both a good thing and a concerning thing. On one hand, the duo has been profoundly consistent. On the other hand, one ill-timed quiet game in a one-and-done quarterfinal format could spell premature disaster.
San Diego did a really nice job defending Smith and Byrne this season, limiting each man to nearly two points per game below their season averages. If Buffalo can get through San Diego, they have to be favorites to make it back to the Finals once again, but to do so they’ll need the league’s oldest player, goaltender Matt Vinc, to prove that he still has another run in the tank. Of the top seeds, Buffalo has the scariest quarterfinal opponent but also has the requisite experience of a team that has been to the Finals three years in a row.
Week 21 Results: Beat Philadelphia 11-5
Quarterfinal Opponent: vs. Rochester (Saturday, 10 p.m. ET)
Previous Ranking: 2nd
Since their trade deadline acquisition of former MVP Christian Del Bianco, the Warriors have been the league’s best team. They’ve ripped off six consecutive wins, holding three of their opponents to eight goals or less. The Warriors began to turn a corner offensively after Curt Malawsky publicly challenged his team in the wake of their February 21 loss to Saskatchewan. In the seven games since that listless loss, the Warriors have piped in an average of 12.1 goals per game, two full goals better than their average over the season’s first 11 games. The reality of Vancouver is that they are positioned to make the franchise’s first deep run in ages because of a perfectly balanced roster. Malawsky has paired veteran experience with the right amount of youthful athleticism and dynamic skill. There is no kind of game that will make Vancouver uncomfortable: shootouts, low-scoring duels and everything in between.
Christian Del Bianco was the league’s MVP over the final six weeks of the season and brings championship experience to his new team. The Warriors enter as the four seed, but would likely be favorites in most best-of-three series matchups. But given the one-and-done format of the quarterfinals, Vancouver will need to lean on Del Bianco to steer the franchise into its first semifinal in a long time. Rochester is an exceptionally interesting opponent for the Warriors, but Vancouver has not shown any discernible weakness since adding Del Bianco into the fold. Saturday night will be loaded with intrigue and intensity.
