By Tom Hoffman
With the National Lacrosse League’s 24th regular season now in the books, it’s on to the postseason. On Saturday May 1 all eight teams will be in action as the quest to see who will hoist the Champions Cup gets underway. Following are the previews for each of the opening round matchups.
Eastern Division
#4 Boston Blazers (8-8) at #1 Orlando Titans (11-5), 7:35 PM at Amway Arena
Regular Season: Boston won the season series 2-1.
Playoff History: First meeting
Team Leaders
Boston: Goals: Dan Dawson (36), Assists: Dawson (52), Points: Dawson (88), GAA: Anthony Cosmo (9.50).
Orlando: Goals: Casey Powell (44), Assists: Jordan Hall (58), Points: Powell (80), GAA: Matt Vinc (9.51).
X-Factors: Cosmo and Vinc were second and third in Goals Against Average while Orlando was tops in the league in Goals Against Per Game (9.63) with Boston coming in third (10.13). Boston finished tenth in Goals Per Game (10.06) while Orlando averaged the fewest Shots on Goal Per Game (44.44).
#3 Buffalo Bandits (8-8) at #2 Toronto Rock (9-7), 7:30 PM at Air Canada Centre
Regular Season: Buffalo won the season series 2-1.
Playoff History: Buffalo won the lone postseason meeting 19-10 in 2004 at Toronto.
Team Leaders
Buffalo: Goals: Mark Steenhuis (36), Assists: Steenhuis (54), Points: Steenhuis (90), GAA: Mike Thompson (9.92).
Toronto: Goals: Stephan Leblanc (36), Assists: Colin Doyle (62), Points: Doyle (84), GAA: Bob Watson (9.31).
X-Factors: No one would have picked this matchup based on the team’s respective starts: Toronto opened 6-1 while Buffalo struggled at 1-5. Bandits were 7-3 after John Tavares returned to the lineup following an injury. Back to back weekends turned the season for both teams: Buffalo winning a pair of road overtime games (at Toronto and Boston) while Toronto stopped a five game losing streak with wins against Calgary and Philadelphia on consecutive nights.
Western Division
#4 Minnesota Swarm (5-11) at #1 Washington Stealth (11-5), 10:30 PM at Comcast Arena at Everett
Regular Season: The teams split their two meetings.
Playoff History: First meeting.
Team Leaders
Minnesota: Goals: Aaron Wilson (40), Assists: Callum Crawford (64), Points: Crawford (96), GAA: Nick Patterson (12.29).
Washington: Goals: Lewis Ratcliff (46), Assists: Rhys Duch (53), Points: Ratcliff (97), GAA: Matt Roik (10.50).
X-Factors: No drop for the Stealth after sending Colin Doyle back to Toronto for Ratcliff. Stealth was the NLL’s top scoring team (211 goals) and tops in Penalty Killing. Minnesota lost their final six games during the regular season and was 0-4 in overtime including their final two games.
#3 Edmonton Rush (10-6) at #2 Calgary Roughnecks, 3:00 PM at Pengrowth Saddledome
Regular Season: Calgary won the season series 2-1.
Playoff History: First meeting.
Team Leaders
Edmonton: Goals: Ryan Ward (31), Assists: Ward (43), Points: Ward (74), GAA: Matt Disher (12.92).
Calgary: Goals: Dane Dobbie (38), Assists: Josh Sanderson (70), Points: Sanderson (104), GAA: Mike Poulin (9.79).
X-Factors: Edmonton is making their first ever postseason appearance. Calgary looking to defend their championship and win their third title overall. Edmonton tied (with Minnesota and Colorado) for worst team GAA. Calgary finished tenth in Penalty Killing.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
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