NLL Insider

Well, it’s going to come down to the last weekend of the National Lacrosse League to decide who make it to the playoffs in the East.

It won’t happen but it’s possible for five teams to finish at 9-7. It must be nervous time in Philadelphia. If Rochester beats New York on Saturday then the Wings have to beat the Rock in Toronto on Sunday or they are out. If only two teams are tied, the tiebreaker is record (and goals-for and goals-against) in head-to-head games.

If three or more teams are tied, then the tiebreaker gets complicated but my understanding is that the first tiebreaker is your record against divisional opponents. According to my addition (you’ll let me know if I’m wrong) Buffalo is 7-6 against the East, and if Rochester, Philly and New York ended at 9-7, their records against east division opponents would be 8-5 (Rochester), 6-7 for Philly and 8-5 for New York. I didn’t even check for Minnesota because Chicago won’t sweep them.

So according to my numbers, Philly would be out in a 3 or 4 way tie between those teams. And even though the National Lacrosse League standings say that Buffalo has clinched, it looks to me like they would be the odd man out in a three-way tie between Buffalo, Rochester and New York. Either way it’s the best regular season finish in the history of the NLL.

1 (3)	New York Titans 9-6 I didn’t think I’d be puting the Titans back on top, but they earned it this weekend.
2 (1)	Philadelphia Wings 9-6 After 6-0 start, playoffs may rest on winning last game in Toronto.
3 (4)	Buffalo Bandits 9-6 Could finish anywhere from first place to fifth place.
4 (6)	Rochester Knighthawks 8-7 Finally playing like champions. It does not get easier as they meet New York for their playoff lives.
5 (2)	Minnesota Swarm 9-5 Two more games against Chicago should give them first place.
6 (7)	Colorado Mammoth 9-6 Beat up on Edmonton this week. Will travel to San Jose for first-place battle.
7 (5)	San Jose Stealth 8-7 Lost another close one at home. First place is up for grabs on Friday.
8 (10)	Calgary Roughnecks 6-9 If they beat Edmonton on Saturday, they’ll enter the playoffs with a three-game winning streak.
9 (11)	Portland LumberJax 6-9 Nice OT win in San Jose. In Buffalo to close out season.
10 (8)	Toronto Rock 7-8 An 0-3 record in overtime games this season is a big reason they miss the playoffs for the first time.
11 (9)	Chicago Shamrox 5-9 Nice try, but what’s the cliche? “Too little, too …”
12 (12)	Edmonton Rush 4-11 Same as above, but watch out next year.

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