Return home offers Wranglers hope

In each of their four prior playoff appearances, the Wranglers have been eliminated by the eventual ECHL Kelly Cup champion.

Las Vegas could be headed for the same fate again this season unless it wins four of the next five games in the National Conference finals.

A good start toward that end would be sweeping the top-seeded Alaska Aces in Games 3, 4 and 5 at the Orleans Arena.

Game 3 is scheduled for 7:30 tonight, Game 4 for 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Game 5, if necessary, for 7:30 Friday night.

"We need these three games. Two will be good, but we need three so we can go up there and steal one," said Las Vegas goalie Glenn Fisher, 6-4 in the playoffs with a 2.07 goals-against average and .949 save percentage. "I'm excited to get back home, and I know the rest of the guys are, too. We've played very well there in the postseason, and I think that will translate into this series."

The Wranglers trail the best-of-7 series 2-0 after getting outscored 6-1 in the first two games at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage.

Las Vegas, 6-2 at home in the playoffs, needs to win at least two of the next three games to send the series back to Alaska, where the Aces are 6-0 in the postseason and have outscored opponents 21-3.

Despite the difficult road ahead, the Wranglers remained upbeat Monday as they made the trek home from Alaska.

"The guys aren't panicking, and there's no need to panic," Mosienko said from the airport in Seattle. "There's still lots of hockey to be played. We're coming home for three games, and we're a good team at home."

Las Vegas was shut out 2-0 in Saturday's Game 1 and fell behind 4-0 in Sunday's Game 2 on its way to a 4-1 loss.

Alaska goalie J.P. Lamoureux notched his fourth playoff shutout Saturday and stopped 23 of 24 shots Sunday. The rookie is 10-2 with a 1.66 GAA and .946 save percentage in the playoffs.

"They've got some good veteran defensemen and some good goaltending," Mosienko said. "Together, that makes for a good way to keep pucks out of your net.

"We need to get some traffic on the goalie, get more shots and more chances and see if we can play a little bit more in their end."

While Las Vegas played its best hockey in Alaska in the third period, it needs to get off to a faster start at home.

"If we can put together more of a full 60 minutes back at home, which I know we will, we'll give ourselves a better chance against this team," Fisher said. "It's key, especially against a team like Alaska, which likes playing with the lead, if we can take the lead.

"It changes the whole dynamic of the game if we take the lead early. That's a big key for us (tonight)."

Mosienko agreed the team that scores first will have a huge advantage.

"Our team does well when we score the first goal," he said. "If we get the first goal, I like our chance of winning."

• NOTE -- Wranglers defenseman Mike Madill, who suffered a lower-body injury in Game 1, is expected to miss the rest of the playoffs.

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