Three straight days of NLL action starts with a Friday night doubleheader! With two games this weekend, the two-time defending champion Bandits have an opportunity to put even more distance between themselves and the rest of the League.
Buffalo Bandits’ Dhane Smith on March 8, 2025 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY. Calgary Roughnecks @ Buffalo Bandits. (Caroline Sherman/NLL)
Buffalo superstar Dhane Smith, who currently sits in fifth in the NLL with 91 points this season, has a prime opportunity to make a move up the leaderboard this weekend. Not only does Buffalo have two games – hosting Las Vegas on Friday and playing at Albany on Saturday – but points leader Connor Fields (105 points) is idle. With Smith averaging 7.6 PPG this year, a move to the top is certainly within striking distance.
Philadelphia enters on a six-game losing streak, which is not only the longest by any team in the NLL this season, but it’s also tied for the longest skid in franchise history. The only other time the Wings lost six straight was in their first six games upon returning as an expansion franchise during the 2018-19 season. While the Wings are just 1-8 all-time against the Rock, Toronto has struggled at home this year, going 1-5.
Halifax has soared into a tie for third place by going 8-2 in its past 10 games after starting the season 0-3. The Thunderbirds’ torrid stretch includes a 14-9 road victory over these same Black Bears on Feb. 21. Ottawa, meanwhile, continues to trend in the opposite direction, having lost three straight games and five of its past six after starting the season 4-2.
San Diego heads to Calgary this weekend as it kicks off a potentially season-deciding four-game road trip. The Seals have won four of their past five to move into a tie for fifth place, but that can change quickly considering the eight teams from third to 10th in the table are separated by just three games. That logjam includes a Calgary team that is clinging to the eighth spot after losing three of four.
Georgia is searching for answers, having gone just 3-6 following its stellar 4-0 start. Perhaps a long trip to Vancouver is exactly what the Swarm needs. The team is 5-2 on the road this season compared to just 2-4 at home. As for Vancouver, the Warriors enter the weekend in ninth place — just a half-game out of eighth — and are coming off their largest win of the season last weekend, a 13-8 victory over the Rock.
March 15, 2025: The Colorado Mammoth vs Philadelphia Wings
Though the Mammoth are one of just three teams that has not lost back-to-back games all season, they have also yet to win three in a row. They’ll look to change that this weekend, having won two straight games for the first time since Nov. 29 and Dec. 6 – its first two games of the season. This is an important game for a Mammoth team that will play its next three games against Saskatchewan (twice) and Buffalo – the top two teams in the table.
Find out if Dyson Williams’ game-winning goal cracked the top plays of Week 16! Plus, listen to Williams on this week’s episode of NLL Box Out with Maki and Coop!
While it’s no surprise that Buffalo is back on top in Cooper Perkins’ latest Power Rankings, there were some major moves amongst the other top teams.
