In Week 17, Vancouver and Colorado punched their postseason tickets by virtue of wins over Ottawa and Calgary, respectively. Toronto upset Saskatchewan, Buffalo beat San Diego in overtime and Las Vegas swept its season series with Rochester. In the week’s wildest game, Georgia prevailed over Halifax 17-16, surviving a 10-goal fourth quarter onslaught. Additionally, idle Philadelphia was officially eliminated from playoff contention. With only four weeks and five playoff spots remaining, every win is now that much more important. Let’s see how the power rankings shook out this week.
Denver, Colorado – February 14, 2025: Ottawa Black Bears at Colorado Mammoth at the Ball Arena in Denver Colorado, United States. (Photo by John Matthew Harrison/National Lacrosse League)
Week 17 Result: Lost to Vancouver 10-8
Week 18 Opponent: vs Georgia (9-5)
Previous Ranking: 6th
The Black Bears’ up-and-down season continues. After a four-game win streak had fans sitting up to take notice, their current two-game skid has tempered expectations, and they now sit seventh in the standings. Previously, the Kings of the fourth quarter, they only managed a 3-3 tie against Calgary and then lost 3-2 to Vancouver. Both of those games were winnable. Jeff Teat, who led the League in scoring the entire season, has had his 103 points overtaken by Keegan Bal’s 107. But the Black Bears have three games remaining (at home vs Georgia and Toronto, and at Halifax) to curate a strong ending to the regular season and get themselves into the playoffs for the first time.
Las Vegas Desert Dogs @ Rochester Knighthawks 03/21/26 (Credit: Jonathan Tenca/NLL)
Week 17 Result: Beat Rochester 17-13
Week 18 Opponent: vs Calgary (4-10)
Previous Ranking: 8th
The Desert Dogs have put up 34 goals in their last two games, both against the Knighthawks. First was a 17-10 win at Lee’s Family Forum, and this week a 17-13 win at Blue Cross Arena. They led 6-0 and then 8-1 after the first. Alexis Buque was rewarded with his second consecutive start, while Adam Poitras had a career high five goals and three assists, with Mitch Jones scoring four and helping on five. It was a dominant outing from start to finish, and when Rochester started showing signs of life in the fourth quarter, the ‘Dogs shut them down by scoring the final five goals of the game. Las Vegas has a good chance to sneak into one of the final playoff spots. Their five remaining games include matches against Calgary, Philadelphia, and a home-and-home against San Diego.
Week 17 Result: Beat Halifax 17-16
Week 18 Opponent: at Ottawa (8-7)
Previous Ranking: 5th
Last week, I pointed out that the Swarm hadn’t yet been able to beat the top teams. Eleventh-place Halifax shouldn’t have proven a challenge for them in Week 17, but they did, at least in the fourth quarter when it counted the most. Yes, the Swarm built up a 10-1 lead 18 minutes into the game. But with a comfortable 15-6 lead in the fourth, they pulled Brett Dobson for Devlin Shanahan, and the Thunderbirds pounced. Shanahan allowed six goals before Dobson was reinstated, but the damage had been done, and the Swarm’s defence was discombobulated and allowed Halifax to tie the game. Captain Jordan MacIntosh scored the game winner 32 seconds later, but the Swarm was almost victims of their own hubris this week.
Calgary Roughnecks v Colorado Mammoth
03/21/2026
Isaiah J. Downing
Ball Arena
National Lacrosse League
Week 17 Result: Beat Calgary 14-12
Week 18 Opponent: Bye Week
Previous Ranking: 7th
The Mammoth are playoff-bound. Despite losing three of their last five games, their early-season success was enough to secure the berth, combined with this week’s back-and-forth win over a streaking Calgary team. Oddly, but confidently, the team elected to only dress five men on offence (along 12 defenders). But luckily, as Andrew Kew goes, so does the team – he’d been somewhat quiet recently, but broke out with a sock trick and four assists, as well as his fourth game-winning goal of the season. Will Malcom and Jack Hannah each had three goals and three assists, and Braedon Saris had two goals and two assists. The remaining eight assists were all contributed by defenders.
San Diego, CA – March 21, 2026: San Diego Seals vs Buffalo Bandits at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California (Photo by Alexis Goeller / National Lacrosse League)
Week 17 Result: Beat San Diego 9-8/OT
Week 18 Opponent: @ Saskatchewan (11-4)
Previous Ranking: 4th
Make it four wins in a row for the defending champs, who are solidly back in the playoff hunt. It took them 45 minutes to get their heads in the game against the Seals, but they outscored their opponents 5-1 when it counted. And who would bet against the Bandits in overtime, especially with Dhane Smith on the floor? He had a monster game, including a wicked cross-crease pass to Joe Resetarits for a goal. He tied the game with 44 seconds remaining and then won it in OT, finishing with 16 shots on goal, three goals and three assists. We may never know why the Bandits struggled earlier in the season, and they may not know themselves, but they’ve moved on and we should too.
HAMILTON, CANADA – MARCH 20: 2026 NLL regular season game action between the Saskatchewan Rush and Toronto Rock at TD Coliseum on March 20, 2026 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Christian Bender/NLL)
Week 17 Result: Beat Saskatchewan 13-9
Week 18 Opponent: at Philadelphia (3-11)
Previous Ranking: 3rd
The Rock made the first-place Rush look ordinary on Friday, and that’s not an easy feat. But that’s what Toronto’s rookies have been doing all season – exposing weaknesses in veteran defences. CJ Kirst and Owen Hiltz lead the team with 30 and 26 goals, respectively, and Sam English leads the team’s transition in shots on goal with 41. Against Saskatchewan, Kirst had a second-quarter hat trick that turned the game around for Toronto – they didn’t trail again after his third goal. That kind of veteran confidence can help them go far in the postseason. They have four games left, including a rematch against the Rush to close out the regular season.
HAMILTON, CANADA – MARCH 20: 2026 NLL regular season game action between the Saskatchewan Rush and Toronto Rock at TD Coliseum on March 20, 2026 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Christian Bender/NLL)
Week 17 Result: Lost to Toronto 13-9
Week 18 Opponent: vs Buffalo (8-6)
Previous Ranking: 1st
After dominating most of the season, the Rush have looked good lately – but not great. All the elements of their success are there, but they’ve been showing some fatigue in games, unable to utilize their killer instinct. In their last four games, two were lost in overtime and this week they fell by four to Toronto. Church, Keenan, Manns and Shanks have seemingly been able to score at will, but they all have to score in every game to be at their most effective – this is not an offence that relies on just one or two players. Church had four goals and two assists, and Keenan had two goals and four assists, but Zach Manns was held scoreless despite dishing out five assists. Shanks was held to a single goal. First place is in jeopardy if the Rush don’t finish their season strong, and they’re heading into some adversity with games against the Bandits, Mammoth and another one against the Rock.
Week 17 Result: Beat Ottawa 10-8
Week 18 Opponent: Bye Week
Previous Ranking: 2nd
The Warriors are following an interesting pattern: lose a game but follow it up with three consecutive wins. The cycle has repeated itself three full times, and it’s working – the Warriors secured a playoff spot on Friday night. The play of Keegan Bal certainly helped with that. Bal now leads the League in scoring with 107 points (four more than Ottawa’s Jeff Teat). He has 71 assists total and an average of 7.1 points per game, which also leads the League. Ottawa managed to give the Warriors a run for their money, tying the game 8-8 in the fourth, but Bal scored the game-winner with three minutes remaining to give him a hat trick along with five assists. Vancouver has three games left to continue their pattern and finish the season at 13-5 and potentially in first place.
