Rush on a roll heading to Vancouver

The Saskatchewan Rush — perfect at home, but carrying a more pedestrian record on the road — are heading to Vancouver for a game Saturday against the Stealth.

The Rush, who have won six National Lacrosse League games in a row, dropped their first two contests of the season — both as visitors — before turning things around. They’re 6-2 heading into that matchup with 3-6 Vancouver. Here’s what you need to know as they head into their clash Saturday.

1. Rolling along: The streaking Rush are the hottest team in the NLL, but they don’t have the best record. That distinction belongs to the Georgia Swarm, who thrashed Saskatchewan 18-10 in the Jan. 7 season opener for both teams. Georgia is 7-1, riding a three-game win streak, and perched atop the NLL’s East Division. Saskatchewan leads the West Division with that 6-2 record.

2. By the numbers: Saskatchewan’s attendance is highest in the NLL, with an average crowd of 14,897 through four home games. Buffalo is next at 14,039. Vancouver (3,158) is last in NLL attendance.

3. And even more numbers: Vancouver’s win percentage isn’t great, but they do boast the NLL’s top scorer in Corey Small, who has 25 goals, 36 assists and 61 points through nine games. Notably, Small was drafted by the Rush with their first pick of the 2009 entry draft, and he played for the team until his trade to Vancouver early in the 2015 season. Saskatchewan’s Mark Matthews — 19-37-56 through eight games — is third in league scoring, behind Georgia’s Lyle Thompson, who has 59 points. Two other Rush players sit in the NLL’s top 20: Robert Church is tied for 11th at 20-21-41, and Adam Jones is tied for 20th at 11-19-30.

4. Past history: Saskatchewan won the NLL title last season, but Vancouver was the better team headto-head. The Stealth took two of three from the Rush, winning 13-11, losing 24-16, and following it with a 14-12 victory in late April. In other words, two of Vancouver’s five wins last season were against Saskatchewan. In their only meeting of 2017, the Rush beat the Stealth 16-12 at SaskTel Centre on the strength of eight assists (and no goals) from Matthews, and four goals and two assists from Church.

5. Up next: The Rush, who hosted and beat Colorado and Calgary each of the last two weeks, will see those same two teams after their game in Vancouver. Saskatchewan will host Colorado next Saturday, then they’ll take a bye week before welcoming Calgary to town on March 24 and travelling to Colorado for a quick-turnaround game on March 25.