The Buffalo Bandits are two wins away from becoming the second team in NLL history to win three consecutive championships (2012-2014 Rochester Knighthawks). Standing in their way are the Saskatchewan Rush, who look to break up the party in Buffalo.
The Bandits and Rush will begin their battle Friday at KeyBank Center at 7:30 p.m., kicking off the best-of-three NLL Finals.
Here’s everything you need to know before Game 1.
How to watch
TV (Buffalo broadcast market): CW23
Streaming (out of market): TSN, ESPN+, NLL+, TSN+
Radio: 1520 AM
How we got here
The Bandits entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed after winning the NLL regular season championship. The 13-5 season saw them race to a 7-0 start and win the Tucker Out Lymphoma Cup.
Buffalo handled the San Diego Seals in the quarterfinals, winning 5-4 in the lowest-scoring game in NLL history; Matt Vinc’s 48 saves led the Bandits in that victory.
Vinc continued his strong performance into the semifinals against the Vancouver Warriors. In Game 1, a 9-3 Bandits win, he made 35 saves and allowed the fewest goals in a game in franchise history. The Bandits finished off Vancouver in an 11-9 Game 2 win – Ian MacKay starred with six points (3+3) – to sweep the Warriors and return to a fifth consecutive NLL Finals.
MacKay mania
In his first season transitioning to offense, MacKay has been a catalyst offensively for the Bandits. He’s scored in every game of these playoffs and is responsible for nine of Buffalo’s 25 goals. MacKay’s nine goals and 12 points both lead the team.
MacKay had only one three-game stretch during the regular season with more goals – he combined for 12 during an early-season tear against Ottawa, Rochester and Toronto.
Wait, we’ve been here before
Playing for a three-peat is familiar territory for Vinc and Paul Dawson. Vinc was in goal all three seasons as Rochester accomplished the feat from 2012-14, with Dawson patrolling defensively for him in 2013 and 2014.
Vinc has had a stellar playoffs to this point, leading the league in goals-against average (5.33) and save percentage (88%). Saskatchewan’s Frank Scigliano, meanwhile, owns an 8.33 GAA and save percentage of 83 in three playoff games.
Dawson, who finished the regular season with an NLL-record 53 blocked shots, is tied for second leaguewide with seven during the playoffs. Teammates Nick Weiss and Cam Wyers also have seven, and Bandits captain Steve Priolo is tied for first with eight.
Scouting the Rush
The Rush reached the NLL Finals in similar fashion to the Bandits, winning the NLL Quarterfinals at home versus the Georgia Swarm before sweeping the Halifax Thunderbirds in the NLL Semifinals.
They took Game 1 in Halifax, 16-7, then were on the brink of needing a decisive Game 3. But Saskatchewan tied Game 2 with less than five seconds left in regulation before winning 10-9 in overtime and clinching the NLL Finals berth.
The Rush have averaged 13 goals scored and 8.33 goals allowed per game in the playoffs.
Buffalo and the Rush matched up in the regular season on March 1 in Saskatchewan, where the Bandits won 9-7. With both teams finishing 13-5, that win proved to be the tiebreaker that granted Buffalo the top seed.