NLL Insider

You thought they were done, didn’t ya? Come on. Admit it. You were lovin’ life when those Rochester Knighthawks were sportin’ a 5-7 record and sitting near the bottom of the National Lacrosse League’s East division standings.

But now, you’re kicking yourself. ‘Cause you knew it was too good to be true and three straight victories later, the Knighthawks (8-7) not only are alive and have a great shot at making the playoffs, they still have an outside chance to actually win their division. Yeah, it’s a very slim chance, but it’s still a possibility and as long as any journalist out here can write the words “the Knighthawks are still alive,” the haters are gnashing their teeth. I’m not gonna name names, but you know who you are.

So here we are. The final weekend of the National Lacrosse League’s regular season and the Knighthawks are getting ready for their visit this weekend to Madison Square Garden. Arguably, it’s not just the game of the week for the National Lacrosse League, but the game of the season before the playoffs kick into gear. There’s a lot riding on the outcome of this game, not the least of which is a playoff berth to the winner. Like the Knighthawks, the Titans (9-6) can also clinch the East title and top overall seed.

So what’s the big question mark coming in? You can point to the defense of Rochester, which has held opponents to single digits in its last three games. You can look to New York’s league-leading 57 power-play goals. But that’s gonna butt heads with Rochester’s penalty-killing unit, which kills off penalties 69 percent of the time, tops in the league. The game will feature three players — John Grant, Casey Powell, Pat Maddalena – ranked in the top 10 in scoring, and two top-10 goalies in Pat O’Toole and Matt Vinc.

It’s all or nothing for the Knighthawks and the Titans, also winners of three straight, had best mind their fundamentals as well. Because as much as they have to gain from beating the Knighthawks, they also haven’t clinched anything and could very well find themselves spectators for the playoffs.

• Maddalena named NLL Player of the Week: NLL.com
• Schedule updates for Mammoth: ColoradoMammoth.com
• Titans to host Heroes Cup: NYTitanslacrosse.com
• Win a Casey Powell game-worn jersey: NYTitanslacrosse.com
• Big props to sportswriter Neil Stevens: St. Catharines Standard
• Take the NLL Offensive Challenge: WingsZone.com

Rate This Story:

(3 votes, average: 2.33 out of 5)

 Loading ...