Not too many light weeks left, but this is one of them. Just five games this weekend in the NLL. Every weekend the rest of the way except one has at least six games, so the home stretch is clearly here. Everyone has played at least half their schedule. A busy trade market during the week sets the stage for some teams to make a charge to the playoffs, most notably Calgary who acquired Nick Rose. Also happening this weekend, a battle between the top two teams in the league as Buffalo visits Saskatchewan. Here’s the slate.
FRIDAY
Who: Georgia Swarm (6-4) vs Ottawa Black Bears (5-5)
Where: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa
When: 7:00pm EST
The Spread: Georgia favored by 1.5 (+105), game total set at 21.5
Who: Albany FireWolves (3-8) vs Rochester Knighthawks (5-7)
Where: Blue Cross Arena, Rochester
When: 7:00pm EST
The Spread: Rochester favored by 1.5 (+120), game total set at 24.5
SATURDAY
Who: Buffalo Bandits (8-1) vs Saskatchewan Rush (9-2)
Where: SaskTel Centre, Saskatchewan
When: 8:00pm EST
The Spread: Buffalo favored by 1.5 (-125), game total set at 24.5
Who: Calgary Roughnecks (6-5) vs Colorado Mammoth (6-5)
Where: Ball Arena, Colorado
When: 9:00pm EST
The Spread: Calgary favored by 1.5 (+120), game total set at 24.5
Who: Halifax Thunderbirds (6-4) vs Las Vegas Desert Dogs (3-8)
Where: Lee’s Family Forum, Las Vegas
When: 10:00pm EST
The Spread: Halifax favored by 1.5 (-140), game total set at 25.5
STORIES TO WATCH
Post trade balling
Toronto went full sell mode this week, dealing stars like Nick Rose, Mitch de Snoo, and Chris Corbeil primarily to bolster their draft position the next two years. Toronto sits at 3-8, firmly outside the playoff picture, it made sense to unload some pending free agents for draft picks because that’s a good thing to do in pro sports. Rose offers much needed goalie support in Calgary, and he’ll take the floor this weekend. In a development that might be funny to everyone other than Nick Rose, the deal means he’ll play Buffalo four times this year. Calgary has been great offensively, but they’ve struggled to fill the Christian Del Bianco sized void in net this year. Rose gives them a significant boost between the pipes, and signals that Calgary fancies themselves a contender. We’ll have to wait to see de Snoo and Corbeil in new threads, since they went to Philly and the Wings have a bye. Speaking of Philly, they dealt Holden Cattoni to Vegas, and he’ll take the floor for his new club this weekend. Cattoni was part of a crowded left side in Philly, it made sense for the Wings to deal one of their weapons on that side. He brings expereince and serious firepower to Vegas.
Battle for the top seed?
#1 and #2. We’ve got the battle in college ball this weekend between Notre Dame and Maryland, and we’ve got it indoors between Buffalo and Saskatchewan. The Rush have played two more games than Buffalo and have one more win. They’ve also won five in a row, and get to play this game at home. The Rush record is excellent, but their road the rest of the way ain’t easy. After Buffalo, they’re on the road against Georgia, then at Halifax. They have two more dates with Colorado, plus a game with Calgary. It’s a grueling close to the year. With nine wins they are pretty firmly entrenched in the playoff picture unless they lose out. A head to head win against Buffalo would be a great thing to have, and would put Saskatchewan at the top of the table.
Road Warriors
There have been 26 NLL games played since Week 10. In those games, the home team has a record of 6-20. Traveling is clearly no big deal to NLL pros. Three of those games were decided in OT, the road team won all three. Four of those home wins were Buffalo, Calgary, and Halifax twice. That’s the power of a significant home field advantage, and those three clubs all pack the house every game. Calgary goes on the road this week, so they’ll try to harness that road magic away from their home crowd. Colorado gets to leverage the Loud House to try and stop them. Winner gets their seventh win, which is starting to feel very important.
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