6. Philadelphia Wings (5-3)
Power Rating: 0.0177
Current Win Total Projection: 10.19
Latest Projected Final Point Differential: +3.8
Latest Projected Finish in Standings: 3rd
Last Week’s Ranking: 5th
7. Rochester Knighthawks (4-6)
Power Rating: 0.0174
Current Win Total Projection: 8.51
Latest Projected Final Point Differential: +3.7
Latest Projected Finish in Standings: 10th
Last Week’s Ranking: 12th
8. Georgia Swarm (5-3)
Power Rating: -0.0032
Current Win Total Projection: 9.84
Latest Projected Final Point Differential: -0.6
Latest Projected Finish in Standings: 5th
Last Week’s Ranking: 8th
9. San Diego Seals (3-5)
Power Rating: -0.0398
Current Win Total Projection: 7.99
Latest Projected Final Point Differential: -8.1
Latest Projected Finish in Standings: 12th
Last Week’s Ranking: 6th
The Philadelphia Wings lost to Rochester, but I wasn’t too surprised. The Wings offense is still the second-most efficient in the NLL and their defense is still a major weakness. Both were evident in their game against Rochester. Knighthawks starting goalie Rylan Hartley played great in his return to the lineup, limiting the usually lethal Philly offense enough to secure Rochester’s fourth win of the season, so it’s hard to dock Philly too much for the loss.
While Riley Hutchcraft played well for the Knighthawks up until this point, their playoff hopes are back on the table with Hartley back in net. Hartley made several acrobatic saves and allowed the Rochester defense to play more aggressively. The Knighthawks’ offense has also been finding its groove as of late and Mike Sisselberger allows them to play make-it-take-it against teams without a top-tier faceoff specialist. While Rochester isn’t in the same tier as the top three teams, they’re a good team when fully healthy, and with championship odds of +2800 (BetMGM), it could be time to buy low on the Knighthawks.
The Swarm escaped Vegas with a win, but my opinion of them hasn’t changed much. Las Vegas has improved since the beginning of the season, but Georgia still hasn’t beaten a team convincingly. As for San Diego, they also can’t seem to put together a full 60 minutes and, despite rallying after a terrible first half, are starting to become one of the bigger disappointments in the league. I still think the Seals are better than their record, but I’ll have little interest in betting them the next few weeks with games against Toronto, Buffalo (twice) and Vancouver on deck. This team could realistically be 3-9 or 4-8 come March and will need to play to its potential if they want to sneak into the playoffs.
