Rocket Weekly: Injuries Are Taking Their Toll
A beaten and banged up Laval team had a tough last few games, only managing one win out of three while losing handily to a pair of division rivals as well.
The Week That Was
Feb. 12: Belleville 5, Laval 0 – For whatever reason, it doesn’t seem to matter the year but Laval struggles with the Senators. This was yet another example of that. Cayden Primeau had an off night and the Rocket completely fell apart in the second period, squandering any chance of a second-half comeback.
Feb. 16: Laval 5, Rochester 2 – This time, Laval benefited from a goalie having an off-night as Devon Levi allowed four goals on just 11 shots. Meanwhile, Connor Hughes was quite sharp for the Rocket, making 18 saves in the third alone. Florian Xhekaj had yet another shorthanded goal while Owen Beck had a pair of tallies as the rookies helped pace the attack in this one.
Feb. 17: Toronto 7, Laval 2 – With a short turnaround, Laval did not have their ‘A’ game and unfortunately for them, neither did Primeau who had another tough one. The Rocket managed to briefly make interesting with Jared Davidson and Joshua Roy scoring in the second to cut the deficit to one but the Marlies scored four unanswered from there, putting it way out of reach before things got rough with the two teams combining for 69 penalty minutes in the final frame.
StatPack
Skaters:
| # | Player | GP | G | A | +/- | SOG | PIMS |
| 2 | Noel Hoefenmayer | 3 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 5 | 0 |
| 7 | Chris Jandric | 2 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Joshua Roy | 3 | 1 | 2 | E | 9 | 2 |
| 11 | Rafael Harvey-Pinard | 3 | 0 | 0 | +3 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | Alex Barre-Boulet | 3 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 9 | 2 |
| 15 | Sean Farrell | 3 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 5 | 0 |
| 16 | Alex Beaucage | 3 | 0 | 0 | E | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | Luke Tuch | 1 | 0 | 0 | E | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Vincent Arseneau | 1 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 1 | 5 |
| 21 | Riley Kidney | 3 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | Tyler Wotherspoon | 3 | 0 | 2 | E | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | Logan Mailloux | 3 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 | 9 |
| 42 | Lucas Condotta | 3 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 4 | 5 |
| 48 | Filip Mesar | 2 | 0 | 0 | -4 | 4 | 2 |
| 49 | Jared Davidson | 3 | 1 | 0 | -6 | 4 | 0 |
| 56 | Adam Engstrom | 3 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 4 | 2 |
| 62 | Owen Beck | 3 | 2 | 1 | +2 | 9 | 9 |
| 63 | Florian Xhekaj | 3 | 1 | 0 | -3 | 6 | 24 |
| 65 | Zack Hayes | 3 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 1 | 4 |
| 79 | Logan Nijhoff | 2 | 0 | 0 | E | 1 | 12 |
| 84 | William Trudeau | 3 | 0 | 0 | -4 | 3 | 14 |
Goalies:
| # | Player | Record | GAA | SV% | SO |
| 30 | Cayden Primeau | 0-2-0 | 5.02 | .782 | 0 |
| 31 | Connor Hughes | 1-0-0 | 2.00 | .944 | 0 |
Team Leaders:
Goals: Jared Davidson (17)
Assists: Alex Barre-Boulet (26)
Points: Alex Barre-Boulet (37)
+/-: Jared Davidson (+15)
PIMS: Florian Xhekaj (117)
Shots: Joshua Roy (138)
News and Notes
– The injuries just keep on coming for Laval. Laurent Dauphin missed all three games with a lower-body injury although he’s listed as day-to-day so he shouldn’t be out for too long. Filip Mesar sustained an undisclosed injury against Rochester and missed the Toronto game as well.
– Needing some reinforcements, the Rocket signed winger Logan Nijhoff to a PTO agreement. He was in training camp with Montreal and Laval in the fall. Meanwhile, defenceman Vincent Sevigny was recalled from ECHL Trois-Rivieres.
– After recording just two assists in his first 22 games, Sean Farrell has 10 goals and five assists in his last 21 outings.
Last Game’s Lines
Farrell – Condotta – Barre-Boulet
Roy – Beck – Harvey-Pinard
Kidney – Xhekaj – Davidson
Nijhoff – Beaucage
Wotherspoon – Mailloux
Trudeau – Hoefenmayer
Hayes – Engstrom
Jandric
The Week Ahead
Wednesday/Friday vs Manitoba – It has been a tough year for the Moose who sit at the bottom of the standings in the Western Conference. They struggle to score, to put it mildly, with 99 goals on the second. For comparison, second-last in the West is at 132 goals scored. Parker Ford leads the way offensively with 14 goals and 21 points but might be back up with Winnipeg before long. They do have a quality veteran between the pipes, however, with Kaapo Kahkonen serving as their starter.
Saturday at Syracuse – Laval won the first four head-to-head matchups of the season but the Crunch took the last two in late December. Veterans Derrick Pouliot and Conor Sheary lead the way offensively for Syracuse while former Hab Jesse Ylonen is third in team scoring but has just one goal in his last 15 games. Brandon Halverson has been the better of their two goalies but he has been up with Tampa Bay at times lately with Jonas Johansson injured so Laval could get a break there.
Final Thought
With the NHL trade deadline now just two-and-a-half weeks away, there’s a good chance that Laval’s roster could look a bit different in the near future. Montreal seems likely to sell off several veterans in the near future and some of Laval’s players will probably be seeing time with the big club.
While the Habs should rightfully be focusing on what’s best for them in terms of what they’re looking to accomplish, I’m hoping that management finds a way to add a piece or two for the Rocket. It’s possible that they’ll have to take a player or two back simply to match contracts and getting a player or two earmarked for Laval would help them absorb losing some of the players to recall while deepening their roster for the postseason. It’d also help get them through this tough stretch injury-wise where they can barely ice a full lineup. It’s not going to be tops on Kent Hughes’ to-do list but if Laval is going to remain in a battle for top spot, they’re going to need some reinforcements.