Wranglers finally hit power switch

The power play has been more like a power outage this season for the Wranglers, who entered Friday's home game against Phoenix with the worst man advantage in the league, scoring only 17 goals on 149 chances for a paltry 11.4 percent success rate.

But after coming up empty on their first four power-play chances against the RoadRunners, the Wranglers finally cashed in at a crucial moment in the game.

With Las Vegas locked in a 1-1 tie 7:34 into the third period, right wing Matt Beaudoin buried a rebound in front of the net on the power play to give the Wranglers a 2-1 lead, and they went on to a 3-1 win over Phoenix at the Orleans Arena.

Mike Madill centered a pass to Chris Neiszner, who fired a shot on net to set up the winning score. The puck was blocked by a Phoenix defenseman and bounced to Beaudoin, who blasted it into the back of the net.

Beaudoin, who scored 68 points for the ECHL's Dayton Bombers last season after getting traded from Las Vegas, added an empty-net goal with 1:06 remaining to seal the win and give him eight goals and 10 points in seven games this month.

"We need him to score, and he's doing it. He scored a big goal tonight," Wranglers coach Glen Gulutzan said. "He's worked real hard, he's in great shape, and he's played well for us."

Beaudoin, who played in last year's ECHL All-Star Game, has 11 points in 11 games for Las Vegas after spending some time in the American Hockey League early this season, then missing several games with a concussion when he returned to the Wranglers.

"I've only played (11) games this year, so I have fresh legs," Beaudoin said. "The puck's been finding my stick in the slot. It's a little bit of luck, but I'm shooting the puck good right now."

Kimbi Daniels scored a power-play goal for Phoenix (12-12-3) 3:13 into the third period -- at the end of the RoadRunners' second two-man advantage of the game -- to tie it 1-1. Phoenix finished 1-for-8 on the power play, and Las Vegas (12-13-2) finished 1-for-6 to move to 18-for-155 on the season.

"Obviously, one of our goals right now is to get the power play going," Beaudoin said. "Once we get a normal power play, we'll be in pretty good shape. It's just a matter of keeping with it, don't get frustrated and get the puck on net, and good things will happen eventually.

"There's too much skill in that locker room for the power play to be where it's at right now."

While the Wranglers have struggled mightily with the man advantage, they're tied for the league lead in shorthanded goals, with seven.

Neiszner netted a shorthanded goal early in the second period to give Las Vegas a 1-0 lead.

Adam Miller, who had two assists, stole the puck in the Phoenix zone and fed Neiszner, who streaked in and blasted a shot past RoadRunners goalie Craig Kowalski (36 saves).

Goalie John DeCaro (8-3-0) made 22 saves for Las Vegas, which outshot Phoenix 39-23.

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