Bandits gear up for playoffs
Tonight’s game ends solid regular season
Billy Dee Smith took a look around the other day and noticed that the National Lacrosse League’s regular season is almost over.
“It goes pretty fast,” said the Buffalo Bandits defenseman. “The first four games take forever because we have been training since November and you don’t play for two months. All of a sudden, the season comes up pretty fast.”
Game 16 of the 16-game schedule comes tonight, when the Bandits host the Boston Blazers in HSBC Arena (7:30 p. m., Radio 1520 AM, Web cast on nll.com). That means the NLL playoffs are right around the corner, beginning in the first weekend of May. The single-elimination format brings with it a substantial amount of tension.
“That makes the biggest difference because the playoffs are only one game,” Smith said. “If it was a best-four-of-seven series, you’d still have a bunch of games left. But now it’s only one game, and you never know what tomorrow brings.”
Tonight’s regular season finale doesn’t have the drama of a win-or-go- home situation, but there is still something at stake for both teams. The Bandits and Blazers have both clinched playoff spots in the East Division. Now the goal is to gain as many home games as possible. If the Bandits win tonight, they will wrap up the division title. Buffalo also would clinch first if the New York Titans lose to Minnesota. That would mean at least two home games in the three-round playoff with the potential for three if the Calgary Roughnecks — the West champions and the first overall playoff seed in the league — lose at some point in the playoffs.
Meanwhile, if Boston wins tonight and the Titans lose, the Blazers would host a first-round playoff game.
As the stakes rise, defense becomes more important, so players like Smith will feel some added pressure the rest of the way. He reports he’s ready to go as the postseason approaches.
“I came into the season in camp in the best shape of my life by far,” the 26-year-old said. “The first game went good. The second one, about halfway through, that’s when I tore up both of my ankles. I don’t know how I did that. But now I feel about as good as I have all year, moreso than at the first game.”
Smith supplied toughness and grit when the team needed it most two weeks ago in the season’s biggest game against Boston. The Bandits fell behind, 6-2, in the first quarter, and it looked as if their grip on the division would loosen for the first time all season.
“A couple of years ago, when it was 6-2, we’d start taking selfish penalties, fighting, and we’d self-destruct,” Smith said. “But everyone was really cool, calm, collected on the bench. We didn’t realize that four of the six goals were power-play goals. So really, they only scored two goals five-on- five. That was a big positive. Darris [Kilgour, the coach] called a timeout, told us that, and we went out and got the job done.”
“They have the green light to go out and put pressure on,” Boston coach Tom Ryan said about the Buffalo defense. “Their goal is to reduce time and space. That presents a unique challenge. They are the complete package.”
A win against New York last week would have given Buffalo the division title and more breathing space tonight. Instead, the 12-9 loss to the Titans was the Bandits’ most one-sided defeat in a 10-5 season to date. They have lost two games by one goal and two games by two goals.
“The games that we lost, it’s good that they were so close because we could take something positive out of it,” Smith said. “We didn’t get blown out. The unit has used it for motivation for the next game. We always came back. We have to make sure that consistency comes.
“Our expectations are so high. We’re putting it all together at the right time. . . . Defensively, we can do more, but everyone is on the same page. We all have the same goal.”
•••
Tickets for the first-round playoff game in HSBC Arena go on sale today. The contest will be played on May 2 at 7:30 p. m.
Tickets are available at tickets.com, bandits.com, Tops Friendly Markets, and the HSBC Arena box office. Tickets range from $25 to $35.
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