It’s make-or-break time for the Portland Pirates.

If the Pirates are to qualify for one of the eight spots from the Eastern Conference in the AHL’s Calder Cup playoffs, they better start winning on the road.

Portland plays nine of its next 11 games away from the Cumberland County Civic Center, and the road has been an inhospitable place for the Pirates. Portland ranks 26th among the 30 AHL teams with a 10-13-3-2 road record, a dismal .446 winning percentage.

The Pirates have earned only 25 of a possible 56 points on the road.

Dating back to Jan. 6, Portland has won only four of 12 games away from the Civic Center.

What’s more, the Pirates have yet to win back-to-back road games.

But Portland must turn around its road record to advance to the playoffs.

What’s the recipe for this turnaround?

“It’s real simple,” said Pirates Coach Ray Edwards. “We’re going to prepare for Friday. … I can tell you with all honesty, we’re preparing for Friday and nothing beyond that. We’re preparing to go to Springfield and win our game.”

Then what?

“After that game, we’ll prepare for Saturday night’s game against Bridgeport,” Edwards said. “That’s what we’re doing, and that’s the way we have to be.”

Despite its lack of success on the road, Portland remains in the thick of the playoff race. With 15 games left, the Pirates trail eighth-place Albany by two points.

“There’s definitely no easy way, but on the bright side, we control our destiny,” said veteran center Alexandre Bolduc. “We’re playing the teams we need to play. We’re not winning games and hoping someone else loses. We’re playing the teams who are right around us and contending for the same spot.”

All but one of the Pirates’ remaining 15 games are against teams battling for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Left wing Brett Sterling, who has two goals and an assist in four games since he was loaned to the Pirates by the Peoria Rivermen, understands the situation the Pirates are in.

“We’re battling for two points every night, and with how close everything is, you can jump real quick with two points,” he said. “You’ve got to worry about it one game at a time. We’re basically in a playoff battle now.”

Rookie center Jordan Szwarz, 20, also knows how crucial every game is for the Pirates.

“I think in my third year in juniors, we were battling for the seventh or eighth playoff spot,” he said. “It was tight, like it is here, and we needed everybody to be pulling on the same rope. It was a very helpful lesson.”

Edwards said his players are well aware of the keys to winning on the road.

“For the most part, it’s just simplifying our game,” said defenseman Dean Arsene. “I think a lot of times where we get into trouble, we try to make hope plays, like throwing an across-ice pass. If it works, it’s a heckuva play, and if it doesn’t, it ends up in the back of our net.”

At this time of the season, the simple plays are the best. “We have a really quick group of forwards, so when we just chip (the puck) to support we’re quite successful,” Arsene said. “We just need to simplify our game and clean up those details.

“When you’re home, you have a tendency to put a show on for your fans. Right now, it’s crunch time and we can’t be doing that. We don’t have to show how pretty we can get goals. We just need to get goals.”

Bolduc said the addition of Sterling and veteran forward Kenndal McArdle should help the Pirates during their stretch drive.

“With those trades, we’ve got a little bit of a different team,” he said. “We have a little bit more edge, a little bit more competitive spirit with us now, and that’s what it takes to win on the road.”

Portland should get a lift Friday night from the return to the lineup of defensemen Nathan Oystrick, who missed two games because of a lower-body injury, and David Rundblad, a rookie who spent the last two weeks with the Phoenix Coyotes.

Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:

pbetit@pressherald.com

Twitter: PaulBetitPPH

 

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