Bandits vs. Rush: How to Watch, Lineup Notes, and Storylines
NLL Buffalo Bandits

Bandits vs. Rush: How to Watch, Lineup Notes, and Storylines

Published on February 26, 2026 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Buffalo Bandits News Release


The Bandits return to KeyBank Center to kick off their weekend back-to-back slate with a rematch of the 2025 NLL Finals.

The Buffalo Bandits secured their historic third consecutive NLL championship just over nine months ago against the Saskatchewan Rush in a thrilling three-game series.

The first of two meetings in the next five games between the Bandits and Rush is slated for Friday at KeyBank Center. Faceoff is set for 7:30 p.m. The game will have a rock music theme as part of this season's "Friday Night Lights" series.

Tickets for Friday's game are available.

The Bandits (4-6) lost to the Vancouver Warriors 11-9 in their last game on Feb. 20 despite a team-high five points from Josh Byrne. Buffalo erased a 5-1 first quarter lead with six consecutive second-quarter goals in 4:14 to go ahead 7-5, but went on a scoring drought that lasted 25:59 into the fourth quarter.

Head coach John Tavares was pleased with the resiliency his group showed in Vancouver to erase the early deficit, something they were unable to do in their 20-9 loss to the Colorado Mammoth earlier this season. Tavares liked how the Bandits clawed their way back against a Warriors team that's tied for third in the NLL standings.

"I got to give the guys credit, they didn't give up," Tavares said. "It's 5-1, we're in Vancouver. It wasn't like, 'OK, here we go again, Colorado times two here.' The guys came back, fought through, kept playing well. When you're working hard and not giving up, good things are gonna eventually start happening. ... We did have an error to let them score at the end of the half. Those are the little things that right now, it's costing us. I was very happy with the way we played, the way we didn't give up in that first half and we didn't give up in the second half. We're looking outside into a playoff spot, that's definitely a top-three team in the league and we're playing with them, we're right there. We just got to find that difference of turning those losses to wins."

The Bandits will be facing a Rush squad that's atop the NLL standings with a 10-1 record. Saskatchewan has won its last nine games since dropping its second contest of the season back on Dec. 12, 2025.

The Rush lead the league with 137 goals scored and 30 power-play goals, further emphasizing the need for the Bandits to play a disciplined style which plagued them in losses to Philadelphia, Ottawa and Vancouver.

The finals rematch with the Rush sets the table for the only back-to-back on the Bandits' schedule this season. The Bandits will head up the QEW to face the Toronto Rock at TD Coliseum in Hamilton on Saturday. Faceoff against the Rock is set for 7 p.m.

Tavares said having the two games in as many days can be an opportunity for the Bandits to utilize their depth and give some younger players extended playing time. He added that back-to-back games can help bond a group which could be pivotal with the final stretch of the season on the horizon.

"I definitely think it helps being together for long periods of time," Tavares said. "Sometimes when you play back-to-back, you're a little bit more on point. When you think about the beginning of the year, we had a lot of weekends off, and we're complaining about having such a big break in between, it's hard to keep your skillset. Whereas now you know you're going back to back, so it's the polar opposite. I think the advantage is your stick should be on, you should have much chemistry as possible."

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National Lacrosse League Stories from February 26, 2026


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