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.
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.”
How to watch
TV (Buffalo broadcast market): CW23
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: WWKB 1520AM
Where the Bandits stand with a difficult road ahead
The Bandits sit in 10th place in the NLL standings at 4-6 but just half a game back of the Rochester Knighthawks and the Las Vegas Desert Dogs who are tied for 8th – and the final playoff spot – at 4-5.
Buffalo has eight games remaining, seven of which are against teams ahead of the Bandits in the standings. Buffalo will play the Rush later this season in Saskatchewan on March 28 and have rematches set with second-place Colorado, third-place Vancouver and Rochester which could decide playoff seeding in the penultimate game of the regular season.
The Bandits have shown second-half heroics in the past but five of six losses this season have come by three goals or less. Tavares recognized that every game the rest of the way will be a challenge, especially the game with Saskatchewan on Friday.
“It’s not like we can afford to take it easy on anybody because of where they are,” Tavares said. “Mentally, you’re thinking, ‘OK, we’re playing Vancouver they’re third, we’re playing Saskatchewan, they’re first.’ Mentally, it’s easier to get up knowing that the other team is at the top of the league. It shouldn’t matter because you’re going to face a tough opponent every game, but it’s definitely easier to get more motivated to play the teams that are currently at the top of the standings. We played Saskatchewan last year in the finals so they still probably have a chip on their shoulder too. If you can’t get up for the games like this, it’s going to be hard to get up for any game.”
Scouting the Rush
Saskatchewan boasts three top-12 goal scorers and four top-20 point producers in the NLL headlined by Ryan Keenan who’s fourth in the NLL in points with 66.
Keenan and Zach Manns each have 26 goals while Austin Shanks and Robert Church both have over 30 assists. All four players have over 20 goals and at least 52 points on the season.
The Rush have allowed the third fewest goals in the NLL this season (100) with consistently solid goaltending from Frank Scigliano who has the second-best goals-against average in the league among qualified goaltenders (9.00).
Saskatchewan has allowed less than 10 goals in eight of its 11 games this season and have outscored opponents 79-58 on the road. The Bandits offense has shown its inconsistency at times this season – including last week against Vancouver – and Tavares said maximizing offensive shifts will be crucial.
“They have a great defense, they’ve got a great goaltender, they’re very athletic,” Tavares said. “They have a great offense that’s very responsible. How are we going to find more goals, more ways to score? You got to capitalize on the opportunity you get… We have to generate opportunities in transition. When we do get power plays, we need to continue to bury them. Our power play has been pretty strong this year. It was one of our weaker points last year so that’s a nice improvement. Just got to find ways to be opportunistic and find ways to score on broken plays, off turnovers or loose balls, whatever it might be.”