Wranglers need rebound tonight against Bakersfield

Maybe the Wranglers would be better served tonight if they spotted the Condors a couple of goals in Game 4 of their Pacific Division semifinal series.

After all, Las Vegas has squandered three two-goal leads in its last two playoff games, both losses, to fall behind Bakersfield 2-1 in the best-of-7 series.

A loss tonight at Bakersfield's Rabobank Arena would put the Wranglers in a 3-1 hole.

"(Tied) 2-2 or (trailing) 3-1 is a huge difference. Nobody wants to be put in that hole," said Wranglers center Dan Riedel, who has a goal and three assists in the series. "We want to approach it like any other game, but we want to approach it with a little desperation. It's a huge game for us."

Despite blowing leads in each of their last two games -- Saturday's 3-2 home loss and Wednesday's 6-5 overtime defeat at Bakersfield -- and playing their next two contests on the road, the Wranglers remain confident they can come back and win the series.

"It can be frustrating, but it's just something you've got to put behind you," Las Vegas defenseman Sean Owens said of squandering leads. "Nothing's really changed for us. We knew coming in here we needed four wins to win the series, and that's our goal.

"We're confident. We think we match up well with this team; we just need to tighten up a few things in our game. They have a high-powered offense, and we need to try to work on keeping that down and doing the little things that make us a successful team."

Condors forward Chad Painchaud is tied for the league lead in scoring in the playoffs with seven points (two goals, five assists), and Dave Bonk is tied for second with six points (4-2), netting all four of his goals in Bakersfield's Game 3 win.

Owens said a key to slowing the Condors' high-octane attack is to control the puck and keep it in their zone.

"They're a transition team that thrives off of turnovers. They try to capitalize on teams' mistakes, so we need to play away from their strengths," he said. "They're hungry. They go to the net like crazy and want goals. They were one of the hotter teams in the last half of the season, and that's a big reason why."

Bakersfield went 20-10-3 down the stretch to qualify for the playoffs and has continued to excel in the postseason.

Despite getting outshot 55-52 in Game 3, the Wranglers have outshot the Condors 122 to 119 in the series. Bakersfield is 3-for-13 on the power play, and Las Vegas is 2-for-12.

Kelly Czuy leads the Wranglers with six points (3-3) in the series, and Adam Miller has four (1-3).

If Las Vegas skates to another lead tonight, Riedel said it needs to stay in attack mode.

"They have too much skill and too much offense to think a two-goal lead will be enough," he said. "If we can clean up our defensive end a little and put more pressure on them, we should be in pretty good shape."

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