BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – One productive line can put three teammates near the top of a scoring race.

The Binghamton Senators take a different approach.

Three scoring leaders on three different lines was a combination the Portland Pirates could not answer Monday night when the Senators rolled to a 6-1 victory and a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven Calder Cup second-round series.

Kaspars Daugavins, who leads all goal scorers in the series with five, had two goals and an assist.

Ryan Potulny, the Calder Cup scoring leader, also had two goals.

Corey Locke, the American Hockey League’s regular-season leader in assists and total points, had three assists.

“They’ve got good options out there,” Pirates Coach Kevin Dineen said.

Team captain Ryan Keller provided a nice fourth option. He added a goal and an assist. Keller is second in playoff scoring behind Potulny and shares the assist lead with his teammate at nine.

Potulny has 10 goals and 19 points in 11 playoff games.

Locke had 65 assists and 86 points in 69 regular-season games.

Daugavins had his second two-goal game of the series, including the winner 10 seconds after Luke Adam scored Portland’s only goal 8:17 into the game. He rushed up the right side for the first of his two goals.

“It was a set play for us,” said Daugavins of the quick response of the ensuing faceoff. “(Patrick Wiercioch) passed to our wing, (Erik) Condra, who chipped a pass and I won the race.

“It was big. When they tied it up, we were thinking about getting the momentum back.”

 

BINGHAMTON ENTERS tonight’s game with a chance to win the series and reach the Calder Cup semifinals.

Senators Coach Kurt Kleinendorst said any momentum the team gained Monday night will be gone at 7:05 tonight.

“I don’t believe in the momentum thing,” he said. “We probably will feel good about ourselves until the puck drops and they won’t feel too good about themselves until the puck drops. Momentum will be dictated by how we play and how they play.”

Kleinendorst knows that it would be a help to his team not to have to return to Maine for Game 6 and, possibly, Game 7.

“Portland is a beautiful city,” he said. “I’ve spent a lot of time there. But, if we didn’t have to go back to Portland, I’d much prefer to hang around here.”

An early clinching could mean some time off.

The winner of the Senators-Pirates series faces the winner of the series in which Charlotte took a 2-1 lead on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with Monday’s 2-1 overtime win. That series will last at least until Friday.

 

NOTES: Center Brian Roloff was scratched from the Portland lineup, and left wing Igor Gongalsky was added. … A shoulder injury kept Dennis McCauley out of the Portland lineup for the second consecutive game. … Binghamton did not make any lineup changes after losing Game 3. … After serving as backup for the first four playoff games, Robin Lehner is 6-1 while making the last seven starts in goal for the Senators. … Pirates CEO/managing owner Brian Petrovek is in Binghamton to watch Games 4 and 5, as is Buffalo Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier and Sabres Coach Lindy Ruff. The Pirates have received playoff goals from 15 players, the most of any of the 16 Calder Cup qualifiers.

— Paul Betit contributed to this report.

 

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