Playoffs starting early for Riggers
Calgary team needs at least a split against Edmonton this weekend
The calendar shows four weeks remaining in the 2015 National Lacrosse League schedule, but as the Calgary Roughnecks see it, the playoffs are upon them.
“Sometimes, you look at an 18game schedule and you think, this is a grind, when do the playoffs start?” said head coach Curt Malawsky. “Maybe that’s what we did early in the year and took it for granted. Now it’s full- on playoff mode for us. I see it in their eyes, this is what we’re here for. It would be nice if we had a buffer, but we don’t, and I think our guys embrace that.
“It’s playoff time for us and that’s what we built this team for.”
The Riggers, 4- 10, have the ultimate test this Battle of Alberta weekend with back- to- back games against the Edmonton Rush, the West Division leaders at 9- 4.
The first game is Friday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome, a 7: 30 p. m. start ( TSN2), Calgary’s final home game of the regular season. With Vancouver ( 4- 9) on the road in Toronto and New England, Calgary needs at least a split to have a hope for the final berth in the West.
“I’ve said for so many weeks, we still control our own destiny,” Malawsky said. “We still have the games in front of us and if we’re successful at a certain number of them, that gets us into the playoffs. From a player’s perspective, if they go out and do their job and make a difference in each game, it gives us a better chance to be on the right side of the scoreboard.
“It’s urgent. That could put panic in those guys, but we have a veteran team. A lot of these guys won the championship. With a veteran group, we’re playing better because they know we’re getting closer to the prize. I think that’s where our group is at its best.”
Calgary is 1- 1 versus Edmonton this season, hoping to build on a truly Roughneck- like effort last weekend against Colorado.
“We have a few things we’ve identified that we’ve had success with,” Malawsky said. “We have to be a little more detail- oriented. We have to make sure we’re on task because we need to have a good showing at home and we have to follow a good game plan.
“We looked at their Toronto games, those games where teams had success against them. It’s a whole gamut of things that we’re looking for to try to come up with a good game plan. That being said, they’ve got a very good coaching staff. It’s always a challenge playing against them.”
On Friday night, fans have a last chance to witness Shawn Evans in his quest to break the single season points record. The veteran forward currently sits atop the pile with 105 points and has four games to break John Grant Jr.’ s record of 116. He’s also on pace to shatter Garrett Billings’ assist mark of 82.
“It’s always a big accomplishment when you’re close to breaking a record,” Evans said. “It’s in the back of your head, but most importantly, it’s making the playoffs and helping this team win. You try not to think about it too much because you want to play your game and not get outside of the box and try to do too much. I owe a lot of credit to my offensive teammates. You know, I don’t know how many assists I’ve got ( 69) but those assists don’t happen if they don’t put the ball in the net.
“The biggest thing is sticking together, staying focused. When you start winning games, you walk with a swagger, you feel you can do more things. We need to have a little swagger.
“It’s win or die for us so we’re going to throw everything at Edmonton.”