NLL 2025 Postseason — Quarterfinals
All 4 games for the Quarterfinals of the 2025 NLL Postseason
Photo Credit: Buffalo Bandits
And then there were eight.
The 2024-25 National Lacrosse League regular season is dead and buried; our time and attention is now completely focused on the 2025 NLL Postseason.
The first round is the most dangerous of all of them, as all four contests this weekend are win-or-go-home. It’s the best chance to take out top seeds; those that survive breathe a little easier knowing they have more control over their destiny in three-game series in the Semi-Finals and Finals.
And the matchups we’ve got set for the first round? Couldn’t have scripted them any better.
The San Diego Seals led by the all-world talents of Wes Berg and Zach Currier trying to upset the top seed Buffalo Bandits with the ageless wonder Matt Vinc manning the pipes and Dhane Smith and Josh Byrne as the deadliest duo in the sport. The Seals beat the Bandits in Banditland once before this season.
The Georgia Swarm were inconsistent all season long but got in with a statement win by downing the Bandits. They haven’t lost in SaskTel Centre since 2016 and are perfect there in the postseason, but this Rush team is something special, designed to deny the most talented of forwards and push the pace.
How about them Halifax Thunderbirds? After pining for a home playoff game, they earned it and welcome the Calgary Roughnecks, who will be bringing familiar foe Nick Rose to The Nest, frustrater extraordinaire of all things TBirds.
Finally, we’ve got the Rochester Knighthawks and Vancouver Warriors, two of the hottest teams down the stretch. The Knighthawks are one of the most dangerous offenses in the NLL, but the Warriors, playing in their first playoff game in almost a decade (and as the Warriors, as they were the Stealth way back then), are otherworldly since Christian Del Bianco took over the net.
No matter how you look at it, we’ve nothing but incredible contests that will certainly result in four sets of heartbreak and four more sets of elation.
Here’s how this works: I’ll tell you the matchups, the results of their five most recent contests (if applicable), top three scorers on each team, probable starting netminders, and team offensive and defensive shift stats as slash lines (S%/SOG%/E%) (offense on the left, defense on the right). All stats are based off my work for this site.
This is intended to be bare bones, quick and easy content to get you caught up before the weekend’s games. No analysis or storylines, just the stats.
If you’re in the US, all games are available on ESPN+; if you’re in Canada, you can catch the games on the TSN app or NLL Plus.
Here’s what’s ahead.
Photo Credit: Buffalo Bandits
San Diego Seals (8th seed, 9-9) vs. Buffalo Bandits (1st seed, 13-5)
Friday, April 25 at 7:30 p.m. ET at KeyBank Center
Last 5 Meetings:
4-1 in Bandit’ favor
Seals
11.9 GF/GAME | 11.6 GA/GAME
Bandits
13.4 GF/GAME | 10.8 GA/GAME
Seals Top Scorers
Rob Hellyer, 93 PTS (29G, 64A)
Wes Berg, 88 PTS (49G, 39A)
Ryan Benesch, 67 PTS (27G, 40A)
Bandits Top Scorers
Dhane Smith, 134 PTS (32G, 102A)
Josh Byrne, 134 PTS (44G, 90A)
Kyle Buchanan, 55 PTS (34G, 21A)
Probable Starting Netminders
Seals
Chris Origlieri — 11.47 GAA | .770 Sv% | -8.85 GSAA | 1024:53 min.
Bandits
Matt Vinc — 10.71 GAA | .785 Sv% | 3.79 GSAA | 1080:51 min.
Offensive & Defensive Stats
Seals O | D
TrueES — 14.7/69.3/13.2 | 15.1/71.8/12.4
TruePP — 17.1/71.2/19.3 | 20.6/73.4/20.3
TrueFB — 21.3/80.6/17.7 | 21.4/79.6/19.0
TrueSH — 5.9/61.2/5.1 | 12.5/72.9/8.0
Bandits O | D
TrueES — 17.3/71.9/15.5 | 13.3/65.1/12.5
TruePP — 16.4/68.9/17.2 | 15.9/58.6/18.2
TrueFB — 23.7/87.8/21.1 | 18.3/73.8/15.2
TrueSH — 12.1/67.2/7.1 | 8.5/60.6/7.1
Photo Credit: Trevor MacMillan/Halifax Thunderbirds
Calgary Roughnecks (6th seed, 10-8) vs. Halifax Thunderbirds (3rd seed, 11-7)
Saturday, April 26 at 7:00 p.m. ET at Scotiabank Centre
Last 5 Meetings:
4-1 in Roughnecks’ favor
Roughnecks
12.2 GF/GAME | 11.6 GA/GAME
Thunderbirds
13.3 GF/GAME | 11.8 GA/GAME
Roughnecks Top Scorers
Curtis Dickson, 108 PTS (48G, 60A)
Jesse King, 105 PTS (30G, 75A)
Tanner Cook, 70 PTS (30G, 40A)
Thunderbirds Top Scorers
Randy Staats, 102 PTS (32G, 70A)
Clarke Petterson, 100 PTS (30G, 70A)
Thomas Hoggarth, 62 PTS (31G, 31A)
Probable Starting Netminders
Roughnecks
Nick Rose — 10.47 GAA | .801 Sv% | 18.17 GSAA | 1048:13 min.
Thunderbirds
Drew Hutchison — 11.96 GAA | .763 Sv% | -5.53 GSAA | 376:14 min.
Offensive & Defensive Stats
Roughnecks O | D
TrueES — 14.9/69.1/12.8 | 14.8/71.1/13.2
TruePP — 20.4/70.4/22.0 | 15.3/77.4/15.8
TrueFB — 19.7/79.5/17.1 | 19.0/77.9/16.2
TrueSH — 7.0/66.7/4.9 | 12.1/60.6/9.5
Thunderbirds O | D
TrueES — 13.5/70.8/12.0 | 14.7/69.0/12.3
TruePP — 18.1/73.4/18.2 | 17.4/71.1/16.8
TrueFB — 25.8/79.2/22.7 | 22.3/79.0/19.9
TrueSH — 19.1/66.2/12.3 | 14.5/70.9/10.7
Photo Credit: Kyle Hess/Georgia Swarm
Georgia Swarm (7th seed, 9-9) vs. Saskatchewan Rush (2nd seed, 13-5)
Saturday, April 26 at 9:30 p.m. ET at SaskTel Centre
Last 5 Meetings:
4-1 in Swarm’s favor
Swarm
11.9 GF/GAME | 12.1 GA/GAME
Rush
11.8 GF/GAME | 9.9 GA/GAME
Swarm Top Scorers
Lyle Thompson, 94 PTS (42G, 52A)
Shayne Jackson, 74 PTS (32G, 42A)
Andrew Kew, 74 PTS (28G, 46A)
Rush Top Scorers
Zach Manns, 74 PTS (35G, 39A)
Robert Church, 73 PTS (33G, 40A)
Ryan Keenan, 73 PTS (26G, 47A)
Probable Starting Netminders
Swarm
Brett Dobson — 11.82 GAA | .770 Sv% | -9.38 GSAA | 1025:31 min.
Rush
Frank Scigliano — 9.40 GAA | .799 Sv% | 13.48 GSAA | 957:33 min.
Offensive & Defensive Stats
Swarm O | D
TrueES — 13.8/68.6/12.3 | 16.2/70.8/13.8
TruePP — 15.8/75.2/15.7 | 16.9/66.1/18.9
TrueFB — 22.9/74.0/20.2 | 22.3/76.6/18.0
TrueSH — 17.8/73.3/12.7 | 5.2/71.4/4.2
Rush O | D
TrueES — 14.1/69.7/12.1 | 12.0/66.6/10.1
TruePP — 16.0/66.3/17.1 | 16.2/74.6/16.5
TrueFB — 19.6/77.4/17.5 | 21.0/75.4/17.6
TrueSH — 14.3/66.7/10.0 | 17.4/71.0/11.0
Photo Credit: Jordan Leigh/Vancouver Warriors
Rochester Knighthawks (5th seed, 10-8) vs. Vancouver Warriors (4th seed, 11-7)
Saturday, April 26 at 10:00 p.m. ET at Rogers Arena
Last 3 Meetings:
2-1 in Warriors’ favor
Knighthawks
12.7 GF/GAME | 11.6 GA/GAME
Warriors
10.9 GF/GAME | 9.6 GA/GAME
Knighthawks Top Scorers
Connor Fields, 122 PTS (46G, 76A)
Ryan Lanchbury, 116 PTS (27G, 89A)
Ryan Smith, 84 PTS (49G, 35A)
Warriors Top Scorers
Keegan Bal, 112 PTS (43G, 69A)
Adam Charalambides, 84 PTS (30G, 54A)
Kevin Crowley, 53 PTS (22G, 31A)
Probable Starting Netminders
Knighthawks
Rylan Hartley — 10.79 GAA | .779 Sv% | -0.54 GSAA | 478:22 min.
Warriors
Christian Del Bianco — 8.67 GAA | .823 Sv% | 12.43 GSAA | 360:00 min.
Offensive & Defensive Stats
Knighthawks O | D
TrueES — 14.4/69.8/13.2 | 13.9/68.4/12.5
TruePP — 17.2/71.3/19.3 | 18.5/69.8/20.4
TrueFB — 20.3/77.8/18.7 | 19.2/74.8/16.9
TrueSH — 7.7/70.5/6.3 | 9.4/68.8/7.1
Warriors O | D
TrueES — 13.8/70.9/11.0 | 11.5/64.7/9.9
TruePP — 15.7/63.8/17.6 | 17.1/67.8/18.6
TrueFB — 23.1/79.9/19.8 | 14.7/71.2/12.4
TrueSH — 17.7/67.7/11.7 | 13.8/67.2/9.4