Road warriors: Why the Firebirds' dominance away from home is key in the Calder Cup Playoffs
The Coachella Valley Firebirds open the Calder Cup playoffs this week in Calgary, with Games 1 and 2 on Friday and Sunday. And if the 2023-24 regular season was any indication, starting the postseason on the road is the best way for the Firebirds to jumpstart a playoff run.
Undeniably, the best road team in the American Hockey League during the regular season, the Firebirds won the most road games (26) in the league, scored the most road goals (131) and also allowed the fewest goals (87) away from home.
That’s dominating.
Firebirds head coach Dan Bylsma said after the regular season finale that the Firebirds will need to win on the road if they want to claim a Calder Cup.
While the Firebirds will have the home-ice advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs, as the top seed, it is their cohesiveness on the road this season that makes them a favorite to reach the Calder Cup Finals, where they lost in crushing fashion at home last season in overtime of Game 7.
“We’re very competitive on the ice against other teams and against ourselves when we’re in practice," said Firebirds forward Kole Lind, who was sixth in the league with 65 points during the regular season. "No matter where we are, we're going out to win hockey games. I think we have a really good group that can silence a crowd or tame down a rowdy opponent.”
The Firebirds will likely need to do both in Calgary. If they don’t win at least one of the two games north of the border, they would then have to return home to Acrisure Arena and win three consecutive games to win the best-of-five series.
Last year in the playoffs, the Firebirds and Wranglers split two games in Calgary. The Firebirds won Game 1 and the Wranglers took Game 2.
The teams then split Games 3 and 4 in the Coachella Valley before the Firebirds won the series in the winner-take-all Game 5 with an Andrew Poturalski goal in overtime. Pandemonium ensued. It was the biggest goal, and biggest win, in franchise history.
Wranglers’ goaltender Dustin Wolf, the AHL MVP last year, said this week that he’s looking forward to the series. And he noted the obvious — that after the Wranglers' crushing, season-ending loss last year, Calgary now has the opportunity to issue some payback to the Firebirds.
To do that, the Wranglers will likely need to put an end to the Firebirds’ staggering road success.
In four games this season between the two teams in Calgary, Coachella Valley won three by a combined score of 16-7. Wolf, who made 17 NHL appearances this season for the Flames, played in just one of those Firebirds/Wranglers games — a 6-1 Firebirds win on Jan. 1.
Starting with that game, the Firebirds won 16 of 23 (69.6%) road games to close the regular season. Just two of those seven losses came in regulation. Three were in overtime and two were in shootouts. Coachella Valley outscored opponents 84-51 in those games.
“I know it’s always hard to go into opposing buildings and get the job done,” Firebirds netminder Chris Driedger said. “I think it takes a special group to do that, and I think that’s kind of the squad that we have here.”
Driedger has been around a while, playing both in the AHL and the NHL over the last decade. He said that he’s found over the years that a group of players who have a tight bond will have each other’s backs in difficult, even hostile situations. He said that he’s seen that, in particular, with his teammates this season.
“I think it translates to the ice,” Driedger added.
One question that lingers is whether the Firebirds’ swagger and success on the road will continue with 11 days off between the regular season finale and their first playoff game.
Firebirds defenseman Jimmy Schuldt said that playing in the Pacific Division has helped the Firebirds because they don’t often have to travel far for road games. He noted that, due to logistics, variables can change when flying. He said that the key is to try to keep the pre-game routines as consistent as possible.
But now in the playoffs, it could be argued that what matters most is that a team with a lot of talent, with a deep roster and a chip on its shoulder over how last season ended, has the confidence to get the job done in any venue.
Bylsma said that gives his squad an extra something as they seek to right last year's wrong.
“It just gives the guys confidence," Bylsma said, "to know that it doesn’t matter the venue, doesn’t matter the place, doesn’t matter the time, doesn’t matter if we have to travel on a bus to get there.
“As our guys say, ‘We’re good with it.’”
Andrew John covers the Firebirds for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com.
Firebirds vs. Wranglers
Schedule for the Firebirds best-of-5 series against the Calgary Wranglers
Friday: Firebirds at Wranglers, 6 p.m.
Sunday: Firebirds at Wranglers, 3 p.m.
Wednesday. May 8: Wranglers at Firebirds, 7 p.m.
Friday, May 10: Wranglers at Firebirds, 7 p.m. (If nec.)
Sunday, May 12: Wranglers at Firebirds, 3 p.m. (If nec.)
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Calder Cup Playoffs: Firebirds' road dominance is important in playoffs
