Buffalo Can Clinch Final Remaining Berth With Win Tonight
April 21, 2012 - National Lacrosse League (NLL) News Release
The National Lacrosse League 2012 season playoff picture continues to take shape following last night's games. The Edmonton Rush clinched a playoff berth by defeating Colorado, and the Toronto Rock clinched a playoff home game with their win over Washington. The playoff scenarios are as follows entering tonight's games.
East Division
TORONTO (8-7)
Has clinched a playoff berth and a home playoff game. Clinches East Division with one win AND one Philadelphia loss. Can also clinch East Division with two Philadelphia losses OR two Rochester wins.
PHILADELPHIA (7-7)
Has clinched a playoff berth. Clinches East Division with two wins OR one win AND one Toronto loss AND one Rochester loss. Clinches a home playoff game with a win AND a Rochester loss.
ROCHESTER (6-8)
Has clinched a playoff berth. Clinches a home playoff game with two wins.
BUFFALO (5-9)
Clinches a playoff berth with a win over Rochester on Saturday. Can also clinch playoff berth with a win against Washington on April 28.
West Division
CALGARY (11-4)
Has clinched a playoff berth and a home playoff game. Clinches West Division and top overall seed in playoffs with a win over Edmonton.
COLORADO (11-4)
Has clinched a playoff berth and a home playoff game. Clinches West Division and top overall seed in playoffs with a Calgary loss to Edmonton AND a win over Minnesota on April 28.
MINNESOTA (7-7)
Has clinched a playoff berth.
EDMONTON (6-8)
Has clinched a playoff berth.
WASHINGTON (4-11)
Clinches a playoff berth with a Buffalo loss to Rochester on Saturday AND a win against Buffalo on April 28.
About the 2012 National Lacrosse League Playoffs
The 2012 NLL Playoffs will begin on the weekend of May 4-6 and take place over three consecutive weekends. Eight teams will advance to the playoffs. All playoff games are single-elimination, and hosted by the higher-seeded team.
The four Divisional Semifinal games will open the playoffs on the weekend of May 4-6. The winners advance to the Eastern and Western Divisional Finals on the weekend of May 11-13. The winners advance to the 2012 NLL Championship Game, to be played on the weekend of May 18-20. The 2012 Championship Game, the East & West Division Finals and one game from the Divisional Semifinals will be televised live exclusively on CBS Sports Network.
Playoffs Calendar
April 28: Final Day of Regular Season
Weekend of May 4-6: Divisional Semifinals
West #4 at West #1, West #3 at West #2
East #4 at East #1, East #3 at East #2
Weekend of May 11-13: Divisional Finals
East #1 - #4 winner vs. East #2 - #3 winner, higher seed hosts
West #1 - #4 winner vs. West #2 - #3 winner, higher seed hosts
Weekend of May 18-20: NLL Championship Game
East vs. West, hosted by higher overall seed
Divisional Tiebreakers:
The following is the tiebreaking procedure for clubs having identical won-lost records at the conclusion of the regular season within their division, to determine the order of finish and seeding within the division. Ties within a division are broken first.
a) Head-to-head record during the regular season (best won-lost percentage in games between tied clubs)
b) Win-loss percentage against divisional opponents
c) Win-loss record against common opponents played an equal number of times during the regular season.
d) Goals for/goals (most net points) against in head-to-head match-ups.
e) Per-game goal differential (goals for minus goals against, divided by games played) within Division
f) Total goals for/goals (most net points) against for the regular season.
g) Coin toss.
Only one club advances to the playoffs in any tie-breaking step. Remaining tied clubs revert to the first step of the tiebreakers. The winning team is removed and the tie-breaking procedure is re-applied to the remaining teams.
Overall Seeding Tiebreakers:
The following is the tie-breaking procedure for clubs having identical won-lost records at the conclusion of the regular season to determine the Overall Order of Finish and Overall Playoff Seeding:
a) Head-to-head record during the regular season(best won-lost percentage in games between tied clubs)
b) Win-loss record against common opponents played an equal number of games during the regular season.
c) Goals for/goals (most net points) against in head-to-head match-ups.
d) Total goals for/goals against (most net points) for the regular season.
e) Coin toss.
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National Lacrosse League Stories from April 21, 2012
- Minnesota Swarm Wins Third Straight - Minnesota Swarm
- Wings Fall 15-10 to Swarm, Face Pivotal Finale Versus - Philadelphia Wings
- Knighthawks Fall to Cosmo-Led Bandits - Rochester Knighthawks
- Buffalo Can Clinch Final Remaining Berth With Win Tonight - NLL
- Washington Stealth Loses to Toronto, Still Holds on to Playoff Hopes - Washington Stealth
- Rock Clinch Home Playoff Game with Win - Toronto Rock
- Rush Gets Mammoth 14-11 Win at Colorado - Edmonton Rush
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
