The National Lacrosse League’s regular season concludes this weekend with a full slate of games and there is still a lot on the line for all nine teams in the league.
The Washington Stealth have clinched a playoff berth and can clinch a home playoff game with a victory over Philadelphia in the final game of the season. The Stealth can still clinch a home playoff game in they lose, but they will need help to do so.
Here are all the playoff scenarios for the final week of the regular season as provided by the league:
West Division
Edmonton (9-6) has clinched a playoff berth and can clinch the NLL regular season title with a win over Calgary. The Rush will clinch a first-round home playoff game with a Washington loss to Philadelphia.
Calgary (8-7) has clinched a playoff berth and can clinch the West Division regular season title with a win over Edmonton. The Roughnecks will clinch a first-round home playoff game with a Minnesota win over Colorado AND a Washington loss to Philadelphia.
Washington (8-7) has clinched a playoff berth and can clinch a first-round home playoff game with a win over Philadelphia OR with a Minnesota loss to Colorado AND a Calgary loss to Edmonton.
Minnesota (7-8) has clinched a playoff berth.
Colorado (6-9) can clinch a playoff berth with a win over Minnesota. The Mammoth will clinch a playoff berth with a Buffalo loss to Rochester. Colorado will be eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to Minnesota AND a Buffalo win over Rochester.
Should the three teams finish 9-7 in the West Division, the head-to-head tiebreaker is applied to determine order of finish. Calgary would have a combined 4-3 record, followed by Washington (3-3) and Edmonton (3-4).
Should Calgary, Washington and Minnesota finish tied for second place in the West Division at 8-8, the head-to-head tiebreaker is applied to determine order of finish. Calgary would have a combined 3-2 record, followed by Washington (3-3) and Minnesota (2-3).
East Division
Toronto (10-6) has clinched a playoff berth and the East Division regular season title. The Rock will clinch the NLL regular season title with an Edmonton loss to Calgary. Toronto will host a first-round home playoff game at Air Canada Centre on Sunday, April 28 at 3 p.m. ET.
Philadelphia (7-8) has clinched a playoff berth and can clinch a first-round home playoff game with a win over Washington AND a Rochester loss to Buffalo.
Rochester (7-8) can clinch a playoff berth and a first-round home playoff game with a win over Buffalo. The Knighthawks will clinch a playoff berth with a Colorado loss to Minnesota. Rochester will be eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to Buffalo AND a Colorado win over Minnesota.
Buffalo (6-9) can clinch a playoff berth with a win over Rochester. The Bandits can clinch a first-round home playoff game with a win over Rochester AND a Philadelphia loss to Washington. Buffalo will be eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to Rochester.
Should the three teams finish 7-9 in the East Division, the head-to-head tiebreaker is applied to determine order of finish. Buffalo would have a combined 4-3 record, followed by Philadelphia (3-3) and Rochester (3-4).
Playoffs Outline
Eight teams will advance to the 2013 Playoffs, which start on the weekend of April 26-28. The crossover rule allows the 5th place team in the West Division to take the place of the 4th place team in the East Division if the 5th place team has a better record.
In the event that the 5th place West team and 4th place East team finish the regular season with identical records, the tiebreakers used for overall seeding will be applied to break to tie and determine which team claims the final playoff berth.
Each division champion faces the fourth place finisher from their division (or the crossover team should that team qualify for the playoffs). The second place finisher in each division faces the third place finisher from their division in the Division Semifinals. Each game is hosted by the higher-seeded team. The winners advance with the higher-seeded teams hosting the Divisional Finals. The winners of the Division Finals meet in the 2013 NLL Championship Game, hosted by the team with the higher overall seeding.
Playoffs Calendar
April 20: Final day of regular season
Weekend of April 26-28: Divisional Semifinals
Weekend of May 3-5: Divisional Finals
Weekend of May 10-12: 2013 NLL Championship Game, presented by Reebok
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
