Heat is on Wranglers to get win in Florida

Technically, the Wranglers are playing Game 4 of the ECHL Kelly Cup Finals today against the Everblades in Estero, Fla.

For Las Vegas, it feels more like Game 7.

Trailing Florida 2-1 in the best-of-7 series after Friday's wrenching 4-3 overtime loss at Germain Arena, the Wranglers face a virtual must-win situation in today's 4:30 p.m. PDT game.

In the league's 24-year history, only four of 105 teams have overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a playoff series. It's a hole the Wranglers desperately don't want to fall into.

"It's a big game for us. We've got to treat it like a Game 7," said left wing Eric Lampe, who has a league-leading 20 playoff points (seven goals, 13 assists). "We had good momentum going in overtime before the tough break. Hopefully, we can pick up where we left off."

Shaking off a stunning 7-2 defeat in Game 2 at Orleans Arena, the Wranglers held a 3-2 advantage late in Game 3 before Justin Shugg tied it with 3:39 remaining.

Matt Marquardt won it for Florida at 13:49 of overtime, capping an odd-man rush off a turnover by Las Vegas, which dictated the play in the extra session.

"I liked how we played in overtime. That's how we have to play to be successful," Wranglers coach Ryan Mougenel said. "We've got to manage the puck better and we've got to get our offense rolling the way we know it can."

Despite a high-scoring line of Lampe, Adam Miller and Judd Blackwater, which has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in the series and 258 this season, including playoffs, Las Vegas has been outscored 12-7. The Wranglers are 12-4 in the postseason, but have scored at least four goals only once.

Las Vegas had allowed four goals only once in the playoffs until the high-flying Everblades did it in the last two games. Florida has four or more goals in eight of 16 playoff games (13-3), including three seven-goal outbursts.

The Everblades have been especially lethal at home, where they are 9-0 in the postseason and on a 20-1-2 streak including the regular season.

Mougenel said his team remains confident it can win on the road, where the Wranglers are 7-2 in the playoffs.

"I'll leave the stats for the statisticians and the nerds. We're not stat watchers. We just go out and play," he said. "We've had some adversity. This is not the first time we've been through something like this. We're going to respond the right way. We'll be ready to go."

After enduring three long off-days since Game 3, the Wranglers - seven days removed from a 2-1 win in Game 1 - are anxious to resume the series.

"It sucks sitting around and waiting after that outcome," said Lampe, who was shocked Friday when Florida goalie John Muse somehow stopped his game-winning wraparound bid in overtime.

"Everyone wants to get back out there and show we can beat these guys instead of having that heartbreaker hang over us," Lampe said. "There's always some adversity you have to face as a team and we're handling it well.

"This series is far from over. That's why we play seven games."

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