Lumberjax In The Running to Make The Playoffs
Submitted by walax on Fri, 2006-03-24 21:08.
Headline News
With less than a month remaining in the 2006 regular season, the league has seen an amazing level of parity. The teams are so close that a half game is all that separates first place and being left out of the playoffs entirely in both divisions. The best record in the league presently is 7-5, a mark that is shared by two teams: Rochester and Toronto. With four weeks remaining in the regular season, all eight playoff spots are still up for grabs.
The season enters Week 13 this weekend and last year at this time the Western Division playoff picture was fairly clear. In 2005 Calgary had already clinched a playoff berth in Week 12 after a weekend sweep improved their record to 8-3. Colorado clinched a playoff spot on the following weekend, leaving only one spot unclaimed. This season, with an additional playoff berth in each division, no team is in a position to clinch a playoff berth in Week 13, in either division. On Saturday the Jax face the San Jose Stealth who are 5-4 and sit in first place in the West Division.
“San Jose is a good match up for us and the expectation for this week is to be consistent with our effort and execution for 60 minutes. Right now we are in the thick of the race for the playoffs and 1st place,” said Coach/GM Derek Keenan. “This is another game on the schedule that is not only important in the standings but to the development and growth of our franchise.”
In their last match up on January 27 the Jax beat the Stealth in San Jose 15-8. Since then the teams have stayed fairly even in the standings, with the Jax tailing by only half a game.
Not only are ten teams vying for eight available playoff spots, but all ten teams are also fighting for the top seeds in their division, and home turf advantage throughout the playoffs.
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NLL Standings
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Team
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W
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L
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GB
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PCT
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Home
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Away
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West Division
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San Jose
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5
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4
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-
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.556
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3-2
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2-2
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Calgary
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6
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5
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-
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.545
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2-3
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4-2
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Colorado
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6
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5
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-
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.545
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4-2
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2-3
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Arizona
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5
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5
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.5
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.500
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3-3
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2-2
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Portland
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5
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5
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.5
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.500
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2-3
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3-2
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Edmonton
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1
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11
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5.5
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.083
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0-6
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1-5
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East Division
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Rochester
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7
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5
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-
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.583
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4-2
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3-3
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Toronto
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7
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5
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-
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.583
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4-2
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3-3
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Buffalo
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5
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4
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.5
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.556
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3-2
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2-2
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Philadelphia
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6
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5
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.5
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.545
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3-2
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3-3
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Minnesota
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6
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5
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.5
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.545
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1-3
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5-2
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Playoff Schedule
Eight teams will advance to the NLL playoffs; four from the West Division and four from the East Division. The National Lacrosse League regular season ends on Saturday, April 15, and the opening round of the playoffs will begin the following weekend (April 21-23). The West and East Division Championship games will be played during the weekend of April 28-30. The NLL Championship game will be played over the weekend of May 12-14, and home turf advantage will be awarded to the team who had the higher regular season standing.
Playoff Format
The following is the format for the NLL post-season. All playoff games are single elimination:
1. The top four teams in each division shall earn playoff berths. Each division champion faces the fourth-place finisher from their division. The second-place finisher in each division faces the third-place finisher from their division in the Division Semi-finals. Each game is hosted by the higher-seeded team.
2. In the Divisional Finals, the winner of the first vs. fourth place Divisional Semi-final game faces the winner of the second vs. third place Divisional Semi-final game in each division respectively. Each game is hosted by the higher-seeded team.
3. The Divisional Final winners shall meet in the 2006 Championship Game, (East vs. West)
Overall Seeding
At the conclusion of the regular season, an overall seeding of teams takes place to determine which of the Divisional Final winning teams hosts the Championship Game. The division-winning club with the best regular-season record becomes the top overall seed and receives home advantage throughout the playoffs. The division-winning club with the lesser record of the two becomes the second-overall seed. The club with the best regular-season record among the non-division winning clubs becomes the third overall seed, followed by the club with the second-best record among non-division winners as the fourth seed, and so on.
NOTE - The following is the tie-breaking procedure for clubs having identical won-lost records at the conclusion of the regular season to determine the order of finish and seeding:
a) Head-to-head record during the regular season;
b) Win-loss record against common opponents played an equal number of games during the regular season;
c) Goals for/goals against in head-to-head match-ups;
d) Total goals for/goals against for the regular season;
e) Coin Toss.
Divisional Tiebreakers
The following is the tie-breaking 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:
a) Head-to-head record during the regular season;
b) Win-loss record against divisional opponents;
c) Win-loss record against common opponents played an equal number of times during the regular season;
d) Goals for/goals against in head-to-head match-ups;
e) Total goals for/goals against within Division;
f) Total goals for/goals against for the regular season;
g) Coin toss.
The Jax will play against San Jose on Saturday, March 25 at 7:30p.
