While last week probably didn’t go exactly as planned for Laval, it was a pretty good one overall for them as they picked up a pair of victories and managed to gain some ground on the final play-in spot in the North Division.
The Week That Was
Dec. 14: Laval 5, Utica 2 – Laval doesn’t get off to hot starts often but they did in this one with Lucas Condotta scoring in the opening minute and the Rocket popping two more before the 13-minute mark. That was more than enough support for Kevin Poulin who had a strong game while Anthony Richard chipped in with four points in the winning effort.
Dec. 17: Cleveland 7, Laval 4 – Wouldn’t you know it, it was another strong start for the Rocket who once again scored three goals. However, this didn’t come close to following the same script as Wednesday’s contest. The Monsters tied it up in the second and while Mitchell Stephens was able to restore the lead, Cleveland stormed back with four unanswered in the third period.
Dec. 18: Laval 4, Cleveland 1 – With a very depleted lineup, the Rocket mustered up arguably their best overall effort of the week as they kept the pressure on Cleveland throughout the game. They also got some much-needed contributions from some of their role players, led by Joel Teasdale who had more goals in this one (two) than the rest of the season combined.
StatPack
Skaters:
| # | Player | GP | G | A | +/- | SOG | PIMS |
| 5 | Tory Dello | 3 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 2 | 4 |
| 6 | Corey Schueneman | 3 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 7 | 0 |
| 11 | Rafael Harvey-Pinard | 3 | 0 | 1 | E | 9 | 2 |
| 13 | Nicolas Beaudin | 3 | 1 | 4 | +4 | 6 | 0 |
| 20 | Gabriel Bourque | 3 | 0 | 1 | E | 3 | 0 |
| 22 | Alex Belzile | 3 | 1 | 1 | -4 | 9 | 7 |
| 24 | Joel Teasdale | 3 | 3 | 1 | +1 | 6 | 0 |
| 26 | Jesse Ylonen | 3 | 1 | 1 | E | 7 | 0 |
| 27 | Mitchell Stephens | 3 | 2 | 0 | E | 12 | 0 |
| 28 | Otto Leskinen | 1 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Mattias Norlinder | 3 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Brandon Gignac | 3 | 0 | 4 | +3 | 4 | 0 |
| 42 | Lucas Condotta | 3 | 2 | 1 | +4 | 9 | 4 |
| 44 | Olivier Galipeau | 2 | 0 | 0 | E | 0 | 2 |
| 52 | Justin Barron | 3 | 1 | 3 | +1 | 3 | 0 |
| 84 | William Trudeau | 3 | 0 | 0 | E | 0 | 2 |
| 85 | John Parker-Jones | 1 | 0 | 0 | E | 0 | 2 |
| 90 | Anthony Richard | 2 | 1 | 3 | +4 | 3 | 2 |
| 92 | Pierrick Dube | 3 | 1 | 0 | E | 6 | 2 |
| 98 | Peter Abbandonato | 3 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 5 | 2 |
Goalies:
| # | Player | Record | GAA | SV% | SO |
| 35 | Joe Vrbetic | 1-0-0 | 1.00 | .963 | 0 |
| 39 | Kevin Poulin | 1-1-0 | 4.03 | .867 | 0 |
Team Leaders:
Goals: Anthony Richard (18)
Assists: Jesse Ylonen (13)
Points: Anthony Richard (31)
+/-: Tory Dello (+7)
PIMS: Mitchell Stephens (29)
Shots: Rafael Harvey-Pinard (86)
News And Notes
– Laval opted to go on this road trip with few spares but they managed to get through the week even after not having Anthony Richard available for Sunday’s game.
– Otto Leskinen was injured in the game against Utica. There’s no timeline for how long he’ll be out of the lineup but he returned to Laval to be re-evaluated.
– Nicolas Beaudin is on a four-game point streak with a goal and six assists in that span.
Last Game’s Lines:
Harvey-Pinard – Belzile – Ylonen
Abbandonato – Gignac – Teasdale
Condotta – Stephens – Bourque
Dube – Parker-Jones
Beaudin – Schueneman
Norlinder – Barron
Trudeau – Dello
Galipeau
The Week Ahead
Wednesday – at Syracuse – It’s not very often that a defenceman leads a team in scoring but that’s the case for the Crunch as Darren Raddysh’s 34 points are not only good enough for the team lead but are enough to put him second in AHL scoring. He has 21 points in the last 13 games. Overall, the Crunch are a high-scoring team; their 97 goals lead the conference.
Friday – vs Wilkes-Barre/Scranton – From a high-scoring opponent to one that simply doesn’t allow many goals as the Penguins have allowed the fewest goals in the East. Former Hab Dustin Tokarski is playing a big part in that with a 1.97 GAA in his 14 games. Offensively, they might get top scorer Drew O’Connor back for this one with the roster freeze pending while former Laval captain Xavier Ouellet is still looking for his first goal of the season although he is tied for the team lead in assists with O’Connor.
Final Thought
Considering how shorthanded Laval is due to injuries, it’s both surprising and disappointing to see Mitchell Stephens still having a very limited role with this team. He’s someone that was signed to be an impact player for Laval, perhaps even their top centre. He’s someone that should have been among the top options to be recalled; he was a regular in Detroit’s lineup when healthy last season.
But things simply haven’t gone Stephens’ way this season. Offensively, he has underwhelmed and while he’s a good checker, the Habs didn’t bring him to Laval to anchor a checking line. They’re going to need some of their veterans to step up to get back into the playoff picture. Stephens should be at the top of the list for those that need to be contributing more. He has shown in the past that he has the ability to be a two-way player in the AHL. It’s time he plays like that type of player for the Rocket.