Prospects of the Montreal Canadiens AHL affiliate suffered injuries over the weekend.
by Chris G, Rocket Sports, Montreal Canadiens blogger
The Laval Rocket hosted the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh Penguins) on Wednesday before beginning a home-and-home series against Utica Comets (New Jersey Devils) on the road on Friday and at Place Bell the following evening.
Wednesday: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 3 - Laval Rocket 4
The Penguins took a lead in the first period with a pair of goals 3:58 apart that began with defensive errors by Adam Engstrom and Noel Hoefenmayer. After a scoreless second period, the visitors increased their lead on a sequence that was started by an error in the offensive zone by Logan Mailloux. Later in the period, William Trudeau took a soft shot that found itself in the back of the net to put Laval on the board. Trudeau’s goal swung momentum in the Rocket’s favour and 2:16 later, Luke Tuch from behind the net found Florian Xhekaj in the slot to cut the lead to one. With 3:18 remaining in regulation, Gustav Lindstrom tied the score with a one timer that beat the netminder. Two seconds after an expiring penalty to the Penguins during overtime, Jared Davidson crashed the net to burry a rebound and complete the come from behind victory.
“At 0-3 with eight minutes left in the game, we scored a goal. We had offensive chances before then, but it didn’t click. We were either giving chances or we had chances, there was no in-between. When it started to click offensively, things opened up,” Pascal Vincent said.
Friday: Laval Rocket 3 - Utica Comets 2
The Comets took a lead with a pair of power play goals, scoring early in the first and early in the second period while Florian Xhekaj and Filip Mesar were serving infractions. Before the intermission, Mailloux cut the lead to one, when he jumped on a loose puck in the crease for the goal. Midway through the third period, Xhekaj brought the teams back to square one with a shot from the faceoff dot that crossed the goal line. With five minutes remaining in regulation, Owen Beck buried a shot from the slot to record his fifth game winning goal.
"We controlled the game. There was maybe 7 minutes during the game that they had chances,” Vincent noted. “Overall, we had no chance of losing that game. We were playing too well, we were playing fast, we created a lot of things offensively[...] When it was 0-2, I was very comfortable with the way we were playing."
Saturday: Utica Comets 3 - Laval Rocket 1
For the fourth consecutive contest, Laval allowed their opponent get on the board first by allowing a goal 1:06 after puck drop. Utica doubled the lead in the second period when former Rocket Nathan Legare jumped on a loose puck in the blue paint and knocked in the net. The Comets added to their lead in the third period when Xavier Parent used his speed to go around Mailloux and beat Connor Hughes. Alex Barre-Boulet broke the shoutout with 15 seconds remaining during their sixth power play and Hughes on the bench for the extra attacker. The loss snapped Laval’s streak of six matches without a regulation loss.
"We weren't connected. We weren't breaking out fast,” Vincent noted. He saw signs early on that his squad wasn’t as sharp as the previous night. “That's a team that can transition really well. What we did extremely well yesterday is that we killed that."
Roster News
Joshua Roy did not finish Friday’s match in Utica after going into the boards shoulder first. The forward did not dress for Saturday’s rematch and the club has not provided details on his absence.
Josh Jacobs underwent a season-ending left knee surgery on Thursday for an injury that occurred on January 4th against the Abbotsford Canucks. The defenceman finished the season with five points in 26 points and was used on the penalty kill.
William Trudeau left during the first period of Saturday’s game after delivering a hard body check in the neutral zone. The extent of his injury has not been announced by the team.
If Trudeau requires to miss action, the Rocket will likely recall a defenseman from their ECHL affiliate in Trois-Rivieres.
Up Next
The Rocket host the Hershey Bears (Washington Capitals) on Wednesday before heading on the road to face the Hartford Wolf Pack (New York Rangers) on Friday and the Providence Bruins (Boston Bruins) on Sunday.
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