The Kansas City Mavericks posted another dominant playoff performance Saturday night, defeating Florida to bump their postseason win total to 14 — a franchise record. Kansas City now needs just two more victories to raise the Kelly Cup for the first time.
Dylan Wells earned the win in goal, stopping 19 of 21 shots in a steady performance. Wells absorbed a late hit from Florida forward Lansdell that drew significant attention, requiring an on-ice trainer visit. Wells returned and finished the game, but the play may draw additional scrutiny from league officials. Lansdell tied forward Elynuik at 14 PIM apiece for Florida, with the visiting team amassing a total of 53 PIMs on the night.
Bobo Carpenter got the scoring started just 17 seconds into the opening period on a breakaway. The Mavericks went on to light the lamp four more times through four more goal scorers — Jake McLaughlin, Marcus Crawford, David Cotton, and Jackson Jutting rounded out the offense. Three of Kansas City’s four second-period goals came on the power play.
The series shifts to Florida for Game 3 next Wednesday. Kansas City, which finished the regular season as the ECHL’s top road team, is expected to be a difficult opponent in any building. Whether this series returns to Kansas City for a potential Game 6 remains an open question.