NLL Week 7 Primer

Welcome to what is, and this is a technical term, the thick of it. We’re into week seven of the NLL season, identities are being formed, the goals appear to be flowing once more, and with every game we get closer to learning who the contenders and pretenders are. The slate this week is packed, and includes the first double dip of the season as there are eight games on the schedule. Here’s the rundown:

FRIDAY

Who: Halifax Thunderbirds (2-2) vs Ottawa Black Bears (3-2)

Where: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa

When: 7:00pm EST

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

Who: Rochester Knighthawks (2-1) vs Philadelphia Wings (1-2)

Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia

When: 7:00pm EST

The Spread: Rochester favored by 1.5 (+110), game total set at 25.5

Who: Vancouver Warriors (2-1) vs Calgary Roughnecks (1-2)

Where: WestJet Field at ScotiaBank Saddledome, Calgary

When: 9:30pm EST

The Spread: Vancouver favored by 1.5 (+114), game total set at 20.5

Who: Saskatchewan Rush (4-1) vs Las Vegas Desert Dogs (2-2)

Where: Lee’s Family Forum, Las Vegas

When: 10:30pm, EST

The Spread: Saskatchewan favored by 1.5 (+105), game total set at 22.5

Who: Toronto Rock (1-2) vs San Diego Seals (1-2)

Where: Pechanga Arena, San Diego

When: 10:30pm, EST

The Spread: Toronto favored by 1.5 (+114), game total set at 23.5

SATURDAY

Who: Buffalo Bandits (3-1) vs Rochester Knighthawks (2-1)

Where: Blue Cross Arena, Rochester

When: 7:00pm EST

The Spread: Not available, updating pending Friday results

Who: Halifax Thunderbirds (2-2) vs Oshawa FireWolves (1-4)

Where: Tribute Communities Centre, Oshawa

When: 7:00pm, EST

The Spread: Not available, updating pending Friday results

Who: Colorado Mammoth (2-2) vs Georgia Swarm (2-2)

Where: Gas South Arena, Georgia

When: 7:30pm EST

The Spread: Georgia favored by 1.5 (+114), game total set at 20.5

STORIES TO WATCH

The rigors of the double dip

Rochester and Halifax both have the double header this weekend. The Knighthawks visit Philly on Friday, then host Buffalo on Saturday. Halifax visits Ottawa Friday, then visits Oshawa on Saturday. Rochester has the more difficult set of opponents, particularly because of the day two matchup. Hosting Buffalo for the second game in two days is not enviable. The Knighthawks have to shake off the not so hot defensive performance they had last week and get back being who we saw in their first two games. Rylan Hartley got chased early by Colorado, and Philly can bring some firepower. The Knighthawks can sign up for a shootout with anyone and like their chances, but it’s not wise to play nothing but track meet games in the NLL. Halifax heads to Ottawa, where they have to make job number one handling the Teat/Hellyer duo. Teat is especially hot, putting up 21 points across his last two games. Hellyer has 11 in those two contests. Both were wins for Ottawa. Teat is playing MVP ball right now. Halifax’s issues with penalties and giving up short handed scores are well documented, cleaning them up this weekend will be huge. If they can get by Ottawa, they play an Oshawa team that has lost four straight on Saturday. Even though Oshawa has been on the wrong end of four in a row, they righted the ship a bit last week. The goals finally started falling and they put up 14.

New year new Seals

It’s tough to know what to expect from any team in a given year, but I don’t think I expected San Diego to be 1-2 after three games. Chris Origlieri has struggled and that surprises me. He’s at 71.8% on the season, and his best outing of the year was 75% against Ottawa in the opener. That’s also the only game he played the full 60 minutes. Wes Berg and Tre Leclaire have been solid, Pat Kavanagh has come on very strong and has 10 points already. I’m surprised to see Ben McIntosh be 0/14 shooting to start the year; he’s been a much better shooter than that in his career. It might just be recency bias, because I was not expecting to San Diego to lose in fairly fashion to a not very good Calgary team. Whatever it is, the calendar has flipped. Turn the page, Seals. Flush the funky start. Use the wealth of experience and seasoned pros on the roster to show the kids from Toronto a thing or two this weekend. Or risk being written off.

Runaway Rush

Saskatchewan won both ends of a home and home with a damn good Halifax team. The boys in neon green now sit at 4-1, a game ahead of 3-1 Buffalo in the NLL standings. This week, they travel to Sin City to take on a feisty Desert Dogs team. The Rush look like the league’s best team right now, and they’re entering a stretch of schedule that is very favorable. At Vegas this week, home against currently last place Oshawa next week, then a bye, then a visit to currently second to last place Calgary. It’s not crazy to expect the Rush to enter February with a 7-1 record. Going 2-0 against Halifax puts the Rush in a position to open up a serious lead at the top of the standings. Vegas is up first and is not a team to be taken lightly, but Saskatchewan is a great spot right now.

Colorado injury bug

The Mammoth put up an 18 spot last week, and Jack Hannah has a spectacular home debut with eight points. The ship felt very righted for the Mammoth. This week they head east to take on Georgia. The offensive firepower got some bad news this week. Ryan Lee went to season ending IR after a knee injury. Lee missed about 75% of 2023 and all of 2024 coming back from a knee injury. His return to the floor last year was inspiring. He had 95 points. He also had carried it into this year, with 20 points through four games so far this year. Another lost season for Lee is brutal news. Colorado is now without Lee, and we’ll have to watch the injury report to find out more about Andrew Kew returning to the lineup. It’s a good thing they got Jack Hannah when they did, because these two injuries are major stories for this offense.