Springfield's fourth win in five games edged it within two points of the Eastern Conference's final playoff spot.
Springfield's Alexandre Giroux (12) continued to climb the AHL's career scoring ladder Sunday.PORTLAND, Maine – It’s way too early to begin printing playoff tickets.
But if the Springfield Falcons do finally break their onerous eight-year postseason drought, the successful weekend completed Sunday with their 6-2 hammering of the Portland Pirates may be what sends them on their way.
The Falcons, winners of three straight and four of five, got production from their special teams (2 for 4 on the power play and 9 for 9 on the penalty kill) plus clutch goaltending from rookie Paul Dainton (26 saves). It all served to nudge the Birds within two points of the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot as the regular season hits its final six weeks.
“Hopefully we can keep it rolling,” Falcons captain Dane Byers said. “This is definitely the time of year you want to be playing your best hockey. We did a great job this weekend sticking with the system.”
The rewards showed up early when the Falcons successfully squashed a double minor assessed to defenseman Greg Amadio, allowing just a pair of harmless shots during that stretch.
“Absolutely,” said veteran winger Alexandre Giroux, who added two goals to his illustrious AHL resume. “That was a turning point in the game.”
The Birds led 2-1 after the first period and 5-2 after the second.
Giroux and Maksim Mayorov both scored once in each period, with Giroux netting his first at 10:41 on a sharp wrister from between the circles.
Mayorov followed at 13:21 by polishing off a short-handed breakaway.
It was just Springfield’s third shot, but it resulted in the yanking of Pirates goalie Justin Pogge. His replacement, Marc Cheverie, fared little better.
“We wanted to chase the goalie out,” Giroux said. “And we wanted to go after the other one right away.”
Giroux connected again on a power play at 5:48 of the second, blasting a slapshot from the right point. It was his 20th goal, marking the eighth consecutive season he has reached that plateau.
“It’s still not like I want it to be,” Giroux said. “But it’s a different year and a different system, so it’s taken me a little while to adjust. Now the ball is rolling, so hopefully I’ll get hot going into the playoffs.”
Adam Mair capped the period with shot that squirted in between Cheverie and the right post.
Wade MacLeod netted his fifth of the year at 7:47 of the third to cap the scoring.
“It was a great way to finish off a hard-fought weekend,” Springfield coach Rob Riley said.
NOTES: Giroux’s second goal was the 359th of his stellar AHL career, putting him one behind former Springfield Indian Jim Bartlett for eighth place on the league’s all-time list. Also, his two points moved him into 23rd on the AHL’s all-time scoring list with 693 ... With the NHL trade deadline set to arrive Monday at 3 p.m., players are bound to be a little unsettled. That goes double for the Falcons, whose roster could be in for a shakeup if the parent Columbus Blue Jackets do as speculated and pull off a blockbuster deal involving star winger Rick Nash. “Guys are really on the edge to see if they make some trades,” Giroux said. “Hopefully we’ll stick here together” ... Attendance at the Civic Center was 4,426.