All 14 teams in action, including three season openers and the reigning MVP making his season debut. NLL Week 3 Primer.

Now we’re talking. It’s week three in the NLL, and we’ve got a packed slate to watch. All 14 teams are in action, seven games on the docket this weekend, including a Sunday matinee on the west coast. There are three teams left who have yet to take the floor (Las Vegas, Rochester, and Philadelphia) who are in action this weekend. For the outdoor fans, that means we likely get a look at players like Brennan O’Neill, Blaze Riorden, Jon Donville, reigning NLL MVP Connor Fields. We also likely get to enjoy the return of Zed Williams to pro lacrosse, as he returns from an achilles injury that sidelined him for the end of last NLL season and all of the PLL summer. Here’s what’s on tap:

FRIDAY

Who: Saskatchewan Rush (1-0) vs Ottawa Black Bears (0-1)

Where: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa

When: 7:30pm, EST

The Spread: Saskatchewan favored by 1.5 (-120), game total set at 23.5

SATURDAY

Who: Colorado Mammoth (1-0) vs Philadelphia Wings (0-0)

Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia

When: 1:00pm EST

The Spread: Colorado favored by 1.5 (+120), game total set at 22.5

Who: Calgary Roughnecks (0-1) vs Toronto Rock (0-1)

Where: TD Coliseum, Toronto

When: 7:00pm EST

The Spread: Toronto favored by 1.5 (-140), game total set at 22.5

Who: Halifax Thunderbirds (1-0) vs Buffalo Bandits (1-0)

Where: Keybank Center, Buffalo

When: 7:00pm EST

The Spread: Buffalo favored by 1.5 (+100), game total set at 23.5

Who: Oshawa FireWolves (1-1) vs Georgia Swarm (0-1)

Where: Gas South Arena, Georgia

When: 7:30pm EST

The Spread: Oshawa favored by 1.5 (+140), game total set at 22.5

Who: Las Vegas Desert Dogs (0-0) vs Vancouver Warriors (0-1)

Where: Rogers Arena, Vancouver

When: 10:00pm EST

The Spread: Vancouver favored by 1.5 (-130), game total set at 22.5

SUNDAY

Who: Rochester Knighthawks (0-0) vs San Diego Seals (1-0)

Where: Pechanga Arena, San Diego

When: 5:00pm EST

The Spread: Rochester favored by 1.5 (+135), game total set at 23.5

STORIES TO WATCH

New Dogs in the Desert

Las Vegas made some splash moves in the offseason. They added Chase Fraser and Chris Cloutier, both dynamic goal scorers, to bolster the offense. Mitch Jones also signed a free agent deal with Vegas, bringing his 110 points from last season with him; 79 of those points were assists. This trio joining a team that already has Jon Donville and bright young stars like Adam Poitras and Jackson Webster makes Vegas a force to be reckoned with on the offensive end. However, one of the most notable names in Vegas will be one that isn’t on the floor. Jack Hannah, who had 83 points for Vegas last year, remains unsigned. Vegas has publicly said they are in active negotiations with Hannah, but it seems unlikely he plays this weekend. Still, the new offensive weapons, albeit without Hannah, is a reason to be optimistic about the Dogs this year. An early test on the road against a popular title pick in the Warriors, and netminder Christian Del Bianco, will force them to be at their best from minute one.

Halifax for real?

Anyone who watched the Thunderbirds last weekend came away impressed. Warren Hill was historically great in net, the offense was humming, the defense was organized and forced the FireWolves into a record for futility with just two goals. As noted by Dawson Nielsen for IL, the offense is deep enough that Will Macleod didn’t even get a spot in the lineup, and he’s a special talent. To nit pick, there are two issues for Halifax that came out of last week’s game. Thomas Hoggarth got hurt and is now on IR. As just noted, the offense is deep and that should help mitigate the loss, but at the end of the day Hoggarth is a hell of a weapon and no offense is the same without him. Second, the Birds spent a lot of time in the sin bin. Exactly 14 minutes in the sin bin to be exact. Despite that much time being short handed, they only gave up one goal to the Oshawa power play. This week is a different animal. They’ll be going into Banditland to take on the three time defending champs in a hostile environment. Commit 14 minutes of penalties there, and things won’t go your way. Halifax turned heads with a week one performance that was exceptional in many ways. Duplicate that in Buffalo, and it’ll really turn heads. 

Who will pack the place?

We’ve got a few games this week in arena’s that we know will be packed. Buffalo, Vancouver, Toronto has been good, San Diego has already announced some of their VIP sections for the opener are sold out. But some hosts this weekend need to put butts in seats. The Wings are playing at Xfinity Mobile Arena, formerly the Wells Fargo Center. Rumors abound that the Wings are not long for Philadelphia. A new arena is being built in Philly, and the Wings getting the chance to play there would be huge for the sport. But if the Wings don’t show that they can draw big crowds, then those rumors about moving could end up being more than rumors. Arenas aren’t in the business of hosting acts that sell 20% of the seats, and if the Wings do that, the Arena would much rather just have a Taylor Swift concert that will sell out in five minutes. The Wings need to sell a boatload of tickets, particularly for their opener. It would also be great to see Ottawa do some numbers this week. They have yet to match their attendance from their opener a year ago, their first game in Ottawa. This week they host the Rush, a very good team will title aspirations. Surely this should draw the lacrosse fans to the building on a Friday night? The Rush home attendance is a whole other conversation to be tackled another time. But attendance this week, in some of the quieter markets, should be watched. 

Welcome back Zed

On February 21st, Zed Williams went down with an Achilles injury. He had surgery in early March, missed the remainder of the NLL season and the entire PLL summer recovering and rehabbing. He was acquired by Rochester on August 21st. Then, on November 24, we all got the news we wanted: Rochester had moved Zed to the active roster from the IR. It’s fair to wonder just how much he’ll play, or how rusty he’ll be, as he returns from such a serious injury. Regardless, Zed is one of the most well liked and respected players in the sport, both indoors and outdoors. The game is more fun while Zed is on the floor or the field. I hope he is one of the first players out the front door this weekend. The offense he joined is already loaded. He’ll join Connor Fields, Ryan Smith, Ryan Lanchbury, Thomas McConvey, and more on the offensive end. The Knighthawks could be one of the most fun teams to watch in the league just from a pure firepower perspective. The Knighthawks play Sunday, late afternoon here on the east coast, and I’ll definitely be tuned in to see how things go ahead the Seals.