The Montreal Canadiens' AHL affiliate was swept in a weekend series.
by Chris G, Rocket Sports, Montreal Canadiens blogger
The Laval Rocket continued their six-game homestand by hosting the Syracuse Crunch (Tampa Bay Lightning) on Friday and Saturday.
Friday: Syracuse Crunch 4 - Laval Rocket 1
The Crunch opened the scoring when Tyler Wotherspoon lost a race for an icing, leading to a goal from a shot in the slot that got past Connor Hughes. The visitors extended their lead in the second period with an uncovered player at the side of the net knocking the puck in, and later with a point shot that deflected off a Rocket player before crossing the line. Laval broke the shutout midway through the third period with a one-timer off a faceoff by Wotherspoon. However, their momentum was short-lived as, 1:12 later, Syracuse capitalized on a defensive breakdown to regain a three-goal lead.
"In the first two periods, we were losing battles, we weren't skating. We started to play in the third period,” a disappointed Pascal Vincent said about the performance.
Saturday: Syracuse Crunch 5 - Laval Rocket 2
After a scoreless first period, Xavier Simoneau used Florian Xhekaj as a screen to get the puck behind the goalie early in the second frame. The Crunch regained momentum from consecutive minors called on Logan Mailloux and tied it on their second power play. Syracuse added three more goals, including goals from former Canadiens prospects Jesse Ylonen and Joel Teasdale. Alex Barre-Boulet made it a two-goal game in the third period by ending an 11-game scoring drought with a power play tally. An empty net goal with 2:45 remaining ended Laval’s hopes for a comeback.
"It was a little better than [Friday]. Better start. The energy levels seems to be going down. Ideally, when you come back from the holiday break, you would be on the road like Syracuse. You're at the hotel, taking care of your team,” Vincent said following the disappointing weekend. "We have a lot of young players, and I think we're starting to learn what it takes to play at the pro level.”
Roster News
The Canadiens recalled Jakub Dobes on Friday morning and flew with the team to Florida and made his NHL debut the following night against the Panthers. The 23-year-old stopped 34 shots in a 4-0 victory. In 14 games with the Rocket, he has 9-3-1 record, 2,44 goals against average and .910 save percentage.
The decision was made to reward Dobes’ consistency in the AHL and due to the loss of confidence in Cayden Primeau. The organization placed Primeau on waivers as soon as the NHL roster freeze was lifted on Saturday, and assigned him to the Rocket on Sunday after he cleared waivers. He is expected to join Laval over the next couple of days.
Brandon Gignac returned to the lineup after being sidelined with a lower body injury suffered on November 22nd during a match against the Belleville Senators. His return lasted two periods as the forward exited the game with the same injury. There has not been a timeline provided for his absence.
Up Next
Following the disappointing results over the weekend, the Rocket dropped from first to third place in the North Division. They wrap up the homestand by hosting the Abbotsford Canucks (Vancouver Canucks) at Place Bell on Friday and Saturday.
Listen to the Canadiens Connection podcast
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»