Wranglers showing signs of life

Former NHL first-round draft pick Alex Bourret hit bottom last season, when he scored only three goals and 14 points in 48 games for the American Hockey League's San Antonio Rampage.

But the 23-year-old Canadian, who was selected 16th overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in 2005, appears to be regaining his form with the Wranglers.

Bourret, who joined the team in mid-January after leaving the Czech Republic, scored three goals Sunday to lead Las Vegas to a 6-3 victory over Stockton at the Orleans Arena.

It was the second hat trick of the season for Bourret, who scored his first three goals for the Wranglers on Jan. 22 in a 6-5 win at Idaho.

The 5-foot-10-inch, 205-pound right wing has 27 points for Las Vegas, on 10 goals and 17 assists, in 19 games.

"(Last year) they told me I was not consistent," Bourret said. "But right now, every game I'm there doing my job. That's what I need to do to get to a higher level."

Chris Neiszner, Adam Miller and Jason Krischuk each had a goal and an assist for the Wranglers (24-25-6, 54 points), who pulled within four points of the second-place Thunder (25-22-8, 58) in the Pacific Division.

Las Vegas, which won two of three games against Stockton, remains in last place -- one point behind Ontario (24-25-7, 55), which defeated Bakersfield on Sunday -- and is fighting for the final playoff position from the National Conference.

"This weekend was very important for us," Bourret said. "I don't really care about my points right now, I just want to make the playoffs, because last year in San Antonio, I missed the playoffs."

Neiszner scored on the first shot of the game, 34 seconds in, to give the Wranglers a 1-0 lead and they never trailed.

Bourret, who scored a goal in each period, converted a breakaway with 5:19 left in the first to give Las Vegas a 2-0 lead. He netted a power-play goal midway through the second period to make it 4-2 and capped the scoring with 2:02 remaining in regulation.

Stockton closed to 4-3, on a goal by Colin Hemingway, 7:33 into the third period.

But Krischuk scored on a blast through traffic from the right point to restore the Wranglers' two-goal edge with 6:49 left.

Joel Gistedt stopped 24 of 27 shots for Las Vegas, which went 2-for-8 on the power play.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.