Buffalo Can Clinch Final Remaining Berth With Win Tonight
Published on April 21, 2012 under 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.
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.
