Clutch Kings: Don’t Call it a Comeback, Bandits Been Here for Years
Josh Byrne, Buffalo Bandits (Photo: Caroline Sherman)
The Lax Mag’s Clutch Kings tracks an individual player’s game-tying, go-ahead and game-winning goals, then weighs them based on when they’re scored (first, second, third or fourth quarter, plus OT), but also in what on-floor situation they’re finished (even-strength, power-play or short-handed goals). The Clutch Kings countdown calculates the league’s most money goal scorer all season long, crowning the king at the conclusion of the current NLL campaign. Click here for a more detailed breakdown of Clutch Kings scoring.
Most group chats had Buffalo dead, buried and eagerly forgotten when it came to which clubs would factor into 2026’s NLL Finals, a place the Bandits had been in five consecutive postseasons, with a four-peat on the line today.
Even though the team was 4-6, had lost four of their last five, and had a bitch of a remaining regular season sked to go, we still ranked Buffalo as one of the season’s most clutch-scoring clubs, and one most definitely not to be counted out.
This past weekend, Buffalo bounced first-place Saskatchewan in OT and then 24 hours later grinded out another victory against a Toronto team that had been heating up.
Ahead of Week 15, the Bandits are firmly back in the playoff picture, salvaging their season and prolonging their pursuit of that fourth straight title.
Here are the clutch Week 14 goals that kept them alive and left your chat’s analysis in shambles.
First off, although it was the over-time affair, Buffalo’s Friday night date against Sask in Banditland had very few goals that registered in our Clutch Kings math.
The Bandits came out hard, and although the Rush relentlessly battled back, Buffalo led from the 47 second mark and through most of the rest of the game. Bandits forward Tehoka Nanticoke, who actually co-owns (with Jeff Shattler) the record for most game-winning goals in one season, started things off…
Although he didn’t find the back of the net in that first frame (or the second, third or fourth quarter either), Josh Byrne, who was our 2024 Clutch Kings winner, assisted on all five of Buffalo’s goals in the first, the team taking a commanding 5-2 lead in that fire opening frame.
Up 8-4 at half, Buffalo’s scoring was largely silenced over the next 30 minutes, allowing the Rush back into the game. Robert Church, who is tied for eighth in our updated Clucth Kings leaderboard, ripped a game-tying goal with under a minute left and sending this one to OT.
Byrne responded, like only a proven clutch player like he can, making it look ever so easy…
A big reason why our CK calculations ranked Buffalo so high prior to this bounce-back performance was because of Byrne, who now has three game winners this year and trails only Zach Manns and Shayne Jackson for the league lead. In fact, Byrne is the only player over the past four years to finish on our season-ending Clutch Kings leaderboard in each and every one of those seasons - regularly ranking really high too…
Season: Go-Ahead/Game-Tying/Game-Winning Goals (NLL Rank)
2022: 6/10/1 (7th)
2023: 6/5/3 (4th)
2024: 11/7/3 (1st)
2025: 6/6/1 (19th)
24 hours later against Toronto, while not as dramatic as his OT dagger, Byrne would score some of Buffalo’s most important goals so far this season.
Twice Byrne scored second-half goals that stopped the back-and-forth ball with the Rock, swinging momentum into Buffalo’s favour at critical times of the closely contested game.
The third quarter against the Rock went: Toronto goal…Buffalo goal…Toronto goal…Buffalo goal, but then…
In the fourth, the quarter opened with a Buffalo goal, then a Toronto goal, another Buffalo goal, and again, Byrne would break up that see-saw scoring…
Amongst all that, Byrne also banged in the game winner, which was that previously mentioned third of the season. Also of note, all three of Byrne’s winning goals this year have happened in the fourth quarter or beyond:
Week 6
Buffalo 15-13 over Las Vegas
GWG 3:35 4th Quarter
Week 14
Buffalo 11-10 over Saskatchewan
GWG 6:47 OT
Week 14
Buffalo 14-9 over Toronto
GWG 0:55 4th Quarter
No one has that many goals so late in a game this year. Not Manns. Not Jackson. Not Dickson. Not Kew. Not anyone, but Byrne.
While the Bandits’ thrilling 2-0 weekend was very much a team effort (they crushed our Week 14 Team of the Week selections), the clutch scoring courtesy of Byrne, both the OT obvious one and the quiet yet equally critical second-half snipes a game later, were ultimately what sealed the deal during Buffalo’s doubleheader dub.
Oh, Byrne also made one of the largest one-week jumps on our leaderboard, which as always, can be found below.
Clutch Kings: Week 15
CKs Rank. Player (NLL G Rank) Team, CK Points (GTG/GAG/GWG)
1. Jeff Teat (T2) Ottawa, 27.25 (4/7/2)
2. Zach Manns (T5) Saskatchewan, 25.25 (5/4/4)
3. Owen Hiltz (T22) Toronto, 22.75 (4/4/2)
4. Dhane Smith (T11) Buffalo, 18.50 (3/3/2)
5. Shayne Jackson (T16) Georgia, 17.00 (1/4/4)
6. Curtis Dickson (1) Vancouver, 16.25 (3/2/3)
7. Josh Byrne (T27) Buffalo, 15.50 (0/1/3)
T8. Tanner Cook (T9) Calgary, 15.00 (4/3/1)
T8. Connor Fields (T5) Rochester, 15.00 (4/2/2)
T8. Robert Church (15) Saskatchewan, 15.00 (1/2/2)
11. Andrew Kew (T2) Colorado, 14.50 (1/2/3)
12. Jesse King (T11) Vancouver, 13.75 (2/5/1)
T13. Nolan Byrne (T27) Georgia, 13.00 (5/2/1)
T13. Chris Boushy (T40) Toronto, 13.00 (3/2/2)
15. Tre Leclaire (T11) San Diego, 12.50 (3/1/2)
16. Will Malcom (T20) Colorado, 12.25 (4/3/2)
17. Reilly O'Connor (T35) Ottawa, 12.00 (1/1/2)
18. Dylan Watson (T30) San Diego, 11.00 (1/2/2)
Scoring System
First 3 Quarters (GTG/GAG/GWG)
Even-Strength Goal: 1.00/1.50/2.00
Power-Play Goal: 0.50/0.75/1.00
Short-Handed Goal: 2.00/3.00/4.00
Fourth Quarter (GTG/GAG/GWG)
Even-Strength Goal: 2.00/3.00/4.00
Power-Play Goal: 1.00/1.50/2.00
Short-Handed Goal: 4.00/6.00/8.00
Overtime (GWG)
Even-Strength Goal: 6.00
Power-Play Goal: 3.00
Short-Handed Goal: 12.00