After the chaos of a 10-game weekend, Week 16 allowed many players and teams to breathe a little easier. With only five games on the schedule, spread out over three days, you could be forgiven for thinking things might be a little predictable. But that was far from the case. Top teams Colorado and Vancouver went down to Ottawa and Toronto, respectively. Halifax won their second game in a row. Calgary dominated Rochester, and Philadelphia and Oshawa beat each other up for the right to avoid last place. Additionally, the trade deadline was Monday, and some significant players were on the move as teams jockeyed for position. Let’s break it down.
Las Vegas vs Halifax 03-07-2026
Week 15 Result: Beat Las Vegas 13-11
Week 16 Opponent: vs Toronto (7-5)
Previous Ranking: N/A
Don’t look now, but the Thunderbirds are on the rise. A week after beating Calgary, they went home to Halifax and outlasted Las Vegas. It was a back-and-forth game. Halifax came back from a 5-1 second-quarter deficit thanks to hat tricks from Clarke Petterson and Stephen Keogh, who hit the 250-goal plateau. They also got a big boost from their transition, with Ethan O’Connor, Nonkon Thompson and Ryan Terefenko all scoring. Speaking of transition, the ‘Birds made a big change on Monday, sending veteran defenseman Tyson Bell to Las Vegas in exchange for former fourth overall pick Casey Wilson, a standout transition player and the younger brother of Max Wilson. Bell is a big team-first guy and his energy will be missed in the Halifax dressing room, but Wilson, should he play, brings a spark of youth to the roster.
Buffalo Bandits against the Saskatchewan Rush on Feb. 27, 2026 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY. (Caroline Sherman/NLL)
Week 15 Result: Idle
Week 16 Opponent: vs Colorado (9-4)
Previous Ranking: 7th
Week 16 brings a matchup everyone’s looking forward to. The Bandits will host the Mammoth; the two have been foes since they played each other in back-to-back NLL Finals, with Colorado taking the title in 2022 and Buffalo in 2023, kicking off their run of three titles in a row. The Mammoth is a vastly different team since then, while Buffalo has made only a few tweaks, including two this week: they added Tyler Hendrycks from Calgary and brought Joe Resetarits home to Buffalo from Philadelphia (giving up youngster Lukas Nielsen in return). Hendrycks will provide depth on offence while Resetarits should become the number three forward behind Dhane and Josh, on a team that also boasts MacKay, Buchanan, and Nanticoke. It’s a stacked lineup that will surely be a force in the March to May.
Rochester Knighthawks at Vancouver Warriors – 02.07.26 (Jaclyn McKee)
Week 15 Result: Lost to Toronto 13-10
Week 16 Opponent: at Georgia (8-4)
Previous Ranking: 3rd
The Warriors had a tough time against Toronto in the first half of their Week 15 clash. Toronto led 6-2 after 15 minutes and 10-3 at halftime, their forwards easily outmuscling Vancouver’s defence and capitalizing on shots that Christian Del Bianco would have preferred not to see. They won the second half 7-3, but the three goals they allowed, in a span of 1:04, were the difference. Marcus Klarich had his best game of the season with five goals and six points, but didn’t have much support from the rest of the offence. Their schedule doesn’t get easier this weekend as they travel to face the Swarm, who are one win behind them.
Toronto Rock at Vancouver Warriors – 03.06.26 (Jaclyn McKee)
Week 15 Result: Beat Vancouver 13-10
Week 16 Opponent: at Halifax (5-7)
Previous Ranking: 6th
The Rock leap ahead of Vancouver after beating them at Rogers Arena on Friday. Nick Rose’s return to the lineup was a big boost to team morale and they scored in bunches. Vancouver wasn’t able to contain the Rock one-on-one or break up their offensive runs. It was a disciplined effort from Toronto, who did not take a penalty in the game. CJ Kirst tied a career high with a five-goal game, and Challen Rogers scored his fifth hat trick in his last six games. As for roster moves, the Rock lost Robert Hudson in Friday’s game to injury, and they are without Justin Martin for a while longer, so they acquired underutilized defender Josh Jackson from Las Vegas to fill the hole Hudson left.
Denver, Colorado – February 27, 2026: Colorado Mammoth player Jordan Gilles (23) and Andrew Kew (42) after the game. San Diego Seals at Colorado Mammoth at the Ball Arena in Denver Colorado, United States. (Photo by Isaiah J. Downing/National Lacrosse League)
Week 15 Result: Lost to Ottawa 10-5
Week 16 Opponent: at Buffalo (6-6)
Previous Ranking: 1st
The Mammoth have lost two of their last three to Toronto and Ottawa after a seven-game winning streak. Against Ottawa, Colorado’s offense hit a power outage in the second half, and the defense was outpaced at times, allowing the Black Bears to score the final seven goals of the game. The Mammoth didn’t make any trades on Monday – they still sport a 9-4 record and will finish the season with the team that got them there. They will be tested against the Bandits this week, and that could go a long way to predicting how the rest of their season could play out.
February 27, 2026: Georgia Swarm vs Philadelphia Wings at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, PA.
Week 15 Result: Idle
Week 16 Opponent: vs Vancouver (9-4)
Previous Ranking: 4th
Georgia, sitting in fourth place in the Standings, is another team that stood pat at Monday’s deadline. They have an important test this weekend against the third-place Vancouver Warriors, who have one more win. Both teams lost their last games. Georgia sits 12th in the league in goals scored with 120, while Vancouver ranks fourth with 146. Defensively, the Swarm has been the league’s best, allowing just 92 goals thanks in large part to Brett Dobson’s stellar season in net. Vancouver isn’t far behind, ranking third with 123 goals against. Saturday’s matchup could go either way, but home floor advantage may give the Swarm the edge.
Week 15 Result: Beat Colorado 10-5
Week 16 Opponent: at Calgary (3-9)
Previous Ranking: 5th
Ottawa extended its win streak to four games by beating the number two team in the League. It was proof that the Black Bears are the real deal, with their prior three wins coming against teams much lower in the standings – although let’s not forget they beat Saskatchewan earlier in the season. Once again, it was a comeback win. Colorado led 5-3 in the third, but Ottawa scored the last seven goals of the game to prevent the Mammoth from clinching a playoff spot. Jeff Teat had four goals and Zach Higgins made 33 saves as the Black Bears made their biggest statement of the season. Monday, the Black Bears acquired Phil Caputo, giving them another threat on their right side.
The Saskatchewan Rush host the Vancouver Warriors at Sask Tel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, February 14, 2026
Week 15 Result: Idle
Week 16 Opponent: vs San Diego (6-6)
Previous Ranking: 2nd
Saskatchewan spent Week 15 resting and preparing to host the eighth-place Seals this weekend. The Rush sit at 10–3 but enter the matchup on a rare two-game losing streak — unfamiliar territory for the league’s top team. In fact, Saskatchewan hasn’t dropped back-to-back games in two years.
The Rush stood pat at the trade deadline, confident in the roster they have and their ability to bounce back from this brief skid. Their defence remains among the toughest in the league, and with three players in the Top 20 in scoring, Saskatchewan is comfortable taking its chances against anyone.
