Somehow, the Washington Stealth has managed to remain as the top-ranked team in the latest Lacrosse-Network.com Experts Poll.

The pack just got a whole lot closer, though.

Washington marked its sixth straight week atop the rankings despite a third straight loss, but its lead is almost entirely gone -- the Stealth leads second-place Calgary (which was idle this past weekend) by just two points, 69-67.

The Roughnecks' rise from fourth place bumped Toronto, which also has lost three straight, to third place (63 points).

Another big climber was Edmonton; the Rush, now 5-3 after an overtime win at Rochester, moved from sixth to fourth (52 points), edging out Orlando (51) and Rochester (50) for the spot.

Our panel of seven experts includes a wide range of top lacrosse minds, including Outsider's Guide writers, players, and coaches. Scoring is on an 11-10-9-etc. basis, so that the maximum score a team can earn is 77 points and the minimum is seven points.

The complete rankings from this week's Experts Poll, with comments (win-loss record through Sunday is in parentheses):

WEEK EIGHT                                         Pts  Prv
 1. Washington Stealth (6-3)                        69    1
    Next game (13 Mar) against surging Riggers...
 2. Calgary Roughnecks (4-3)                        67    4
    ...could KO Stealth by beating Phila
 3. Toronto Rock (6-4)                              63    2
    Needs to reverse course quickly
 4. Edmonton Rush (5-3)                             52    6
    Finally making a playoff push!
 5. Orlando Titans (4-2)                            51    5
    Chance to move up Saturday night at Buffalo
 6. Rochester Knighthawks (5-4)                     50    3
    Let win vs. Edmonton slip away
 7. Boston Blazers (5-4)                            40    7
    Impressive win over Washington
 8. Minnesota Swarm (4-4)                           27    8
    Win's a win, but not quite 15-5 repeat, eh?
 9. Buffalo Bandits (2-6)                           20    9
    Struggling to get on the one page
10. Philadelphia Wings (2-6)                        14   11
    Five-game losing streak halted
11. Colorado Mammoth (2-6)                           9   10
    Six weeks since the Tusks last won