Short-handed Wranglers blow away Roadrunners

After a flurry of recent roster moves, the Wranglers were left short-handed for Sunday's game against Phoenix, dressing only 11 position players. It didn't make a difference, though, as Las Vegas dominated throughout its 4-0 rout of the RoadRunners at the Orleans Arena.

The Wranglers, who scored three power-play goals in the second period to take command, won their eighth straight game to run their record to an ECHL-best 12-2-0. Las Vegas, 25-2-0 in its last 27 regular-season games, also improved to 4-0 against Phoenix this season, outscoring it 19-4.

Kevin Lalande, the fourth goalie to start a game for the Wranglers this year, notched a shutout in his first ECHL start. He wasn't tested much, though, as Las Vegas outshot Phoenix 29-10 in the first two periods and 37-18 overall.

"I haven't been playing much lately, so it was good to get a win. The shutout is a bonus," said Lalande, who hopes to regain his form in Las Vegas after a rough start at Quad City of the American Hockey League, where he went 1-2-0 with a 4.53 goals-against average and an .837 save percentage.

"As a goalie, confidence is the No. 1 thing. It was missing in Quad City, but hopefully I can get it back here."

Shawn Limpright made a successful return to the ice after missing 10 games with a shoulder injury, scoring on a rebound in the first period to give the Wranglers a 1-0 lead they wouldn't give up.

Despite shutting out Phoenix (6-9-0), Wranglers coach Glen Gulutzan wasn't entirely happy with his team's effort.

"We were just OK," he said. "I was expecting a little more juice from Phoenix. They didn't play well, and that helped us, because we weren't sharp, either."

Las Vegas, which outshot Phoenix 13-4 in the first period, kept the pressure on in the second period, outshooting the RoadRunners 16-6 and netting three power-play goals in a span of 4:31 to take a 4-0 lead.

The Wranglers, who entered fifth in the league in power-play percentage (21.5), converted three of six power plays.

Ryan Donally, who had two goals entering the game, scored a pair of goals 2:45 apart, the first one in front of the net off a nice between-the-legs feed from Sean Owens at the 7:36 mark and the second one an unassisted score at the 10:21 mark when he lifted the puck into the top of the net from the slot to give Las Vegas a 3-0 edge.

"He needed that to get going," Gulutzan said.

Brandon Kaleniecki made the score 4-0 at the 12:07 mark when he deflected a shot by Mike Madill past Phoenix goalie Cody Rudkowsky in front of the net.

The Wranglers continue their six-game homestand at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday against Bakersfield.

• NOTES -- Adam Cracknell, Las Vegas' leading scorer, was recalled by Quad City on Thursday, and goalie Daniel Manzato and defenseman Jason Krischuk were called up to the AHL on Saturday. Krischuk went to Quad City, and Manzato took his 6-0 ECHL record to Albany, where he replaced former Wranglers netminder Kevin Nastiuk, who was injured Friday.