April 19, 2010
Blazers control their playoff fate
by Staff Report/
Jack Reid and the Blazers will earn a playoff berth win a win at Rochester on Saturday. (photo: Steve Babineau)
With one game remaining in the regular season, the Boston Blazers control their own playoff fate.
With two postseason berths at stake in the Eastern Division, a Blazers win at Buffalo on Saturday puts Boston in the playoffs.
According to the National Lacrosse League web site, the Orlando Titans have secured the Eastern Division regular-season title, while the Toronto Rock are the No. 2 seed for the playoffs.
Three teams are in a battle for the final two postseason positions: the Blazers (8-7), Buffalo Bandits (7-9) and Rochester Knighthawks (7-8). All three teams can earn playoff spots in the regular season’s final weekend.
The Blazers will close the regular season at Buffalo on Saturday.
A win gets Boston into the postseason, but the Blazers can lose against Buffalo and still earn a playoff spot if Rochester loses against Washington.
According to the NLL web site, a three-way tie at 8-8 between Buffalo, Buffalo and Washington would leave the Blazers as the odd team out.
The NLL’s first tiebreaker, head-to-head matchups, favors both Buffalo and Rochester, which would both be a combined 3-2 against the other two teams, while Boston would be 1-3. The second tiebreaker would go into effect for Buffalo and Rochester, with Buffalo having the better record against divisional opponents and earning a playoff spot.
The tiebreaker would then be re-applied to Boston and Rochester, according to the NLL, with both teams going 1-1 in head-to-head meetings. Rochester has the better record (6-6) in the division over Boston (4-7), giving the Knighthawks the final playoff spot.
