There is still a lot of lacrosse to be played in this National Lacrosse League season but the two top teams are close to earning a spot in the playoffs. Calgary is leading the West division with eight wins while Buffalo is leading the East division with eight wins as well. Both teams can clinch a playoff spot with three victories and coincidentally, each team has three games remaining at home where they each team has lost just once.
Two wins coupled with a Rochester loss will put Buffalo in the playoffs. Boston needs three wins with a Rochester loss to enter the playoffs in their first season since their return to the NLL. New York has a two game lead on the basement dwellers in the East and play Philadelphia twice down the stretch so they have a chance to greatly influence the final standings. Unfortunately for them they also play Buffalo twice. Checking out the upcoming schedule, if both Boston and Buffalo win this coming weekend (March 27-29), then Buffalo can clinch a playoff spot by defeating the Blazers on April 4th, adding more fuel to an already heavily anticipated battle.
Over in the West, Calgary can clinch a playoff spot this weekend by beating Toronto at home Friday and Minnesota on the road Saturday. The rest of the teams are jammed together, however; Portland has two games in hand on those teams so they could pull ahead of the pack by winning both games. Too bad for them one of those games in hand is against the division leading Roughnecks.
The remaining games should make for some great entertainment as teams try to reach the playoffs. Will Edmonton finally click and string enough wins together? Will Rochester or Toronto return to the playoffs after their one year hiatus from postseason? Can Philadelphia battle through their injuries to make a serious run? Will Boston continue their improbable season and take first in the East? Will Portland continue to impress and make it to the finals for a second year in a row after many dismissed them before the start of the season? The most important question for this writer, will the Buffalo Bandits repeat as champions?
UPDATE: Apparently Buffalo can clinch a playoff berth this weekend too. Check out this article on NLL.com
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