With six weekends remaining in the regular season, let’s take a look at where each of the nine teams stands in order of the standings. The top three in each division will advance to the playoffs. In the NLL East, all five teams are bunched together with six wins each, and nobody has a clue which two will miss the postseason. In the NLL West, things have already been pretty much decided.

EAST

1. NEW ENGLAND (6-5)

Losing 14-9 at home to Toronto in front of a Mohegan Sun Arena crowd of 5,832 on Friday after winning 8-7 in overtime in Toronto the previous weekend cost the Black Wolves the season series standings tiebreaker and thoroughly annoyed coach Glenn Clark, who referred to the loss as “a sub-par effort.”

“It felt like guys thought that, somehow, they had arrived and this game was just going to come to them,” Clark said. “It’s frustrating. We go on a little mini-streak and all of a sudden guys... it just didn’t look as if they were wired enough.”

New England plays at home Friday against Buffalo and Saturday at Georgia. This crucial two-game weekend will determine whether the Black Wolves retain first place or fall back into the pack. Having lost their previous game against Buffalo, they need a win over the Bandits to avoid losing the season series, which is the standings tiebreaker should they finish with identical won-lost records. They’ve already lost their season series with Toronto. They won their season series with Rochester and can win their season series with Georgia if they can beat the Swarm on Saturday.

The Black Wolves finish March 31 at Buffalo, April 8 at home against Calgary, April 14 at Colorado, April 21 at Rochester and April 29 at home versus Georgia. We might go to the season’s final regular-season game to see who’s in and who’s out of the playoffs.

2. TORONTO (6-6)

The Rock were 0-3 since Tom Schreiber went out of the lineup with a knee injury when they went to Connecticut on Friday and emerged with a huge 14-9 victory. Kieran McArdle scored three goals and Adam Jones, Brett Hickey, Reid Reinholdt and Dan Lintner got two each.

Goaltender Nick Rose has been Toronto’s MVP.

“Rosey’s our backbone, no doubt about it,” coach Matt Sawyer said.

Toronto plays NLL West teams the next two weekends — Saturday at Calgary and March 30 at home versus Colorado — and needs to win at least one of them to keep pace with others in their division.

The last four will be a challenge: April 8 at Georgia, April 13 vs. Rochester, April 21 at Buffalo, April 28 at Colorado. If they can get Schreiber back, the Rock can make a late-season push to the top of the division. Toronto has already won its season series with New England and Rochester. It lost its season series with Georgia. The April 21 game will decide the season series with Buffalo.

3. ROCHESTER (6-7)

The Knighthawks took a four-game winning streak into Calgary on Saturday, fell behind early and rallied late in losing 14-13.

“We spotted them too many goals early on,” said lefty forward Kyle Jackson, who scored three goals. “That’s what hurt us in the end. You can’t start off that way and still win games in this league. It’s not going to happen.”

Rookie Austin Shanks had his first four-goal NLL game.

The Knighthawks head west again this weekend for a game against Saskatchewan before returning home to face Colorado on March 31. They finish up with games April 13 in Toronto, April 21 at home versus New England and April 28 at Buffalo. Rochester will take a 2-1 season series edge over the Bandits into that last game.

Rochester has already lost its season series with Toronto and New England. It has won its season series with Georgia.

4. GEORGIA (6-7)

Lyle Thompson scored five goals and the Swarm defeated visiting Buffalo 14-10 Sunday. The Swarm outscored the Bandits 4-2 on power plays in front of a crowd said to number 3,863 on the official scoresheet.

“We talked about moving our feet a little more, moving the ball,’’ coach Ed Comeau explained when asked about the proficient power play. “We had a couple of good weeks of practise doing that and the shots dropped for us.”

Georgia plays at home against New England on Saturday.

“We really have to own our home building,” Comeau said. “If we can do that ... we’ll be in position to get ourselves back in the playoff race.”

Randy Staats hasn’t played since leaving Toronto with an arm in a sling March 3.

The Swarm have won their season series with Toronto, lost their season series with Rochester and are down 0-1 to New England with two to go against the Black Wolves.

“Every team in the East Division has six wins, so we’re not out of it,” goaltender Mike Poulin said.

Georgia’ last four: April 8 at Toronto, April 14 at Saskatchewan, April 28 vs. Vancouver, April 29 at New England.

5. BUFFALO (6-7)

The Bandits lost their third in a row Friday, falling 16-10 to visiting Saskatchewan, and coach Troy Cordingley was not pleased with what the home crowd of 12.936 witnessed.

“We’re in the tightest division battling for our lives for a playoff spot,” he said. “We don’t care which one it is. We just want one, and we show up like that? That’s disheartening. We’re not going to make the playoffs playing like that, going through the motions, no sense of urgency.”

The Bandits had a chance to redeem themselves Sunday when they played in Georgia. With Mark Steenhuis activated off the injured list after missing a good chunk of the season with a broken arm, the Bandits played better but they trailed all the way and lost their fourth in a row 14-10.

Buffalo is at New England on Friday with a chance to sew up the season series and plays the Black Wolves again at home on March 31. The Bandits conclude their 18-game schedule April 14 at Calgary, April 21 at home versus Toronto and April 28 at home against Rochester.

PHOTO BY NLL PHOTOS

WEST

1.SASKATCHEWAN (11-2)

The Rush won their third in a row with 16-10 win at Buffalo in front of 12,936 spectators Friday. Robert Church scored six goals to increase his league-best total to 34 and Mark Matthews had a goal and eight assists. They are 1-2 in league scoring with 82 and 77 points.

“I was getting open in the middle and Mark Matthews was finding me for a couple of easy ones that I could tap in,” Church said. “It was good to get a win and get some payback for the one we gave up early in the year.”

The Rush play their next two at home, Saturday against Rochester and April 7 against Colorado.

The Rush have been first overall most of the season, and that’s not going to change. They have won the season series against each of their divisional rivals and, unless a large meteor strikes Saskatoon, will be at home for the mid-May division final. Their schedule ends with games April 13 at Vancouver and home games April 14 against Georgia and April 28 versus Calgary.

2. COLORADO (9-3)

The Mammoth jumped to an early lead, briefly relinquished it in the fourth quarter, and came on strong to the final buzzer to win 13-10 at Vancouver on Saturday. It was their fifth consecutive victory. The 49 saves Dillon Ward made had a lot to do with the outcome. Stephen Keogh, Jeremy Noble, Eli McLaughlin and Joey Cupido scored two goals each in a balanced attack that had become characteristic of the Mammoth offense. They can still catch Saskatchewan, but they’ll most likely remain second.

Colorado has already clinched a playoff berth and is likely to have home floor for the division semifinal the first weekend in May. The Mammoth play Vancouver again on Saturday.

“We have to make sure we’re doing the proper work off the floor,” Cupido said. “We know the Stealth are going to be a desperate team. They need to win, so we need to match their intensity. It’s going to come down to hard work and desire.”

Colorado has its work cut out for it in its last five games: March 30 at Toronto, March 31 at Rochester, April 7 at Saskatchewan, April 14 vs. New England, April 28 vs. Toronto.

3. CALGARY (5-7)

The Roughnecks drove Matt Vinc from the Rochester nets in the second quarter in racing to a 10-5 halftime lead then held on to edge the Knighthawks 14-13. It was a big night for Wes Berg, who scored six goals and assisted on two in front of 15,070 spectators in Calgary. The Roughnecks are locked into third place with six games left.

“The biggest difference from winning and losing lately is the way we play as an offensive unit,” Berg said. “When we play together, we get the result we want. When we try to do a bit too much, we end up going stagnant and don’t get the same looks.”

Calgary is at home against Toronto on Saturday. The last five: at Vancouver on March 31, April 8 at New England, April 14 vs. Buffalo, April 21 at Vancouver, April 28 at Saskatchewan.

4. VANCOUVER (1-12)

They made it close Saturday, losing 11-10 at home to Colorado, but the Stealth went down for their eighth consecutive defeat. They remain mathematically capable of making the playoffs but, realistically, they are done. Announced attendance was just over 3,000. The Stealth have played six home games and have lost them all.

“Every time you go out on the floor, [the challenge] is bigger than yourself,” forward Joel McCready said. “You are playing for your family, you are playing for your friends and you are playing for your teammates. Nobody in that [dressing] room is running away. We may be getting hit, but we are showing up and ready to swing back at our opponents.”

The Stealth have to play the Mammoth again this weekend, in Denver this time. The rest: March 31 vs. Calgary, April 13 vs. Saskatchewan, April 21 vs. Calgary, April 28 at Georgia.

Vancouver’s showing is worst in the league since the Edmonton Rush finished 1-15 in 2006.