The National Lacrosse League has released playoff clinch scenarios for NLL Week 16 with seven games on the schedule including three games on Friday night and four more on Saturday. Only two spots in the Champion’s Cup Playoffs, one in each division, remain as teams look to improve their seeding, clinch their postseason berth, or stay alive in the race this weekend with just three weeks left in the regular season.
East Division
Buffalo Bandits (10-4) have clinched playoff spot and a home playoff game.
New England Black Wolves (9-5) have clinched playoff spot and can clinch a home playoff game with win vs. Georgia.
Rochester Knighthawks (6-8) can clinch playoff spot with win vs. Georgia AND Georgia loss vs. New England AND one Toronto loss vs. Buffalo.
West Division
Calgary Roughnecks (7-9) can clinch playoff spot with win vs. Vancouver.
Colorado Mammoth (10-4) have clinched playoff spot and a home playoff game and can clinch division title with two wins vs. Saskatchewan.
Saskatchewan Rush (10-4) have clinched playoff spot and a home playoff game and can clinch division title with two wins vs. Colorado.
The 2016 NLL regular season concludes in Week 18 with every team in action before the 2016 NLL Playoffs start the weekend of May 6-8. A total of six NLL teams, the top three clubs in each division’s standings, will qualify for the playoffs. The two regular season division champions will earn a first-round bye as top seeds. The second seed will host the third seed in their respective division for the single-game elimination Division Semifinal in the first round. The first two rounds of the playoffs shall remain under the same format as last year with single elimination for both first-round Division Semifinal games along with a two-game series for the Division Finals.
The top seed from each division plays the winner of the Division Semifinal game between the second and third seeds, with the lower-seeded team hosting the first game and the higher seed hosting the second game of the series. As adopted for 2014, a 10-minute tiebreaker game will be played immediately following Game 2 of the Division Finals should the series be tied, 1-1.
For the second-straight year, the Champion’s Cup Finals expand to a full best-of-three series with the higher-seeded team hosting Game 1 and Game 3 (if necessary).
