Sunday, February 21 - 1:30 pm at Rexall Place

Edmonton, AB -- The Edmonton Rush will look to put an end to a two-game losing skid when they complete a home-and-home set against cross-country rivals, the Toronto Rock in a rare Sunday matinee.

With last weekend's 16-7 win over the Rush at Air Canada Centre, the Rock took full control of the National Lacrosse League's East Division with a 6-2 record and a 1.5 -game lead on Rochester. The Rush's recent skid has dropped them to third in the West Division, 2.5-games behind Washington. Edmonton sits just behind Calgary - both at 3-3 on the year - and a full game up on both Colorado and Minnesota.

This will be the ninth meeting between the Rock and Rush since Edmonton joined the league in 2006. Toronto currently holds a 6-2 edge in the head-to-head meetings, but the Rush have won the two most-recent encounters at Rexall Place. Leading the way for the Rush in those two games is former Rock Jimmy Quinlan, who has gone on to become the Rush's all-time leading scorer. The Edmonton native has always found an extra level of energy playing against his former club and has notched hat tricks in both games.

In a 16-12 win on home turf last season, the Rush were anchored by Andy Secore who tied a team record with eight points in a game (five goals, three assists). In 2007, Quinlan's hat trick and a 50-save effort by goaltender Curtis Palidwor paced the Rush to a 12-9 decision for Edmonton's first-ever win over Toronto.

After falling to the Rock a week ago, Edmonton's overall record versus the East Division dropped to 5-12 all-time. Sherwood Park product Blaine Manning single-handedly did in the Rush as he propelled the Rock attack with a five-goal, five-assist performance. Colin Doyle helped the Rock along with an eight-point night (two goals, six assists). The Rush picked up two goals each from Scott Stewart, Andy Secore and Gavin Prout plus a single from Brodie Merrill.

Ryan Ward continues to pace the Rush's offensive attack and sits 19th in NLL scoring with 27 points (13 goals, 14 assists) and 13th in the league with 13 goals. Ward leads the NLL with three shorthanded markers. Brodie Merrill and Gavin Prout are tied for 16th in the league in assists, each with 17 on the season. Merrill is also second in the league with 74 loose balls, 10 back of league-leader Geoff Snider of Philadelphia. Secore's two tallies last weekend have moved him into a tie with Dean Hill for second on the Rush with 10 goals on the season.

The Rock have the league's most-potent offensive lineup, with four players all ranking in the NLL's top scorers including league-leader Colin Doyle who has 12 goals and 38 assists for 50 points. Rookies Stephan Leblanc (16 goals, 31 assists for 47 points) and Garrett Billings (18 goals, 28 assists for 46 points) are joined by Blaine Manning (21 goals, 25 assists for 46 points) as the Rock's top threats. Toronto has scored 107 goals through eight games.

Statistically Speaking: The Rush's recent losing streak has cost goaltender Matt Disher his top-flight ranking amongst the league's netminders. Disher has dropped to 11th in the league in save-percentage at .767 and fallen to 15th in goals-against average at 12.12. He does, however, continue to be one of the league's busiest stoppers, sitting in third in saves with 217 through six games ... Disher’s Toronto counterpart Bob Watson is having a stellar season, ranking first with a paltry 7.55 goals-against average and second with a .819 save-percentage.

By The Numbers: Ian Hawksbee has cracked the league's top 20 in loose ball collection, sitting 16th with 42 on the season so far ... Not a single member of the Rush is amongst the league.s top 20 in total shots ... Besides Orlando which has played just four games on the year, Edmonton has scored the fewest goals in the NLL with just 61 on the year. The Rush have given up 75 goals, the fifth-highest in total in the league ... Edmonton's power play is ranked eighth in the NLL at 33.3% (10-for-30) while Toronto is second with the man-advantage at 53.6% (30-for-56). The Rush's penalty-killing has tumbled downward in recent weeks, falling to 10th in the league at 51.5% (16 goals in 33 shorthanded situations). Toronto's PK is ranked third at 69.4% (11 goals in 36 shorthanded situations). The Rush do have the second-most shorthanded goals in the league, though, with five - just one behind Washington.