HabsWorld.net -- 

It was a decent on the road for Laval.  They picked up a respectable five points in four games but saw their lead on first overall shrink while they also dealt with some more injury issues.

The Week That Was

Apr. 1: Laval 3, Manitoba 2 – Cayden Primeau was in fine form in this one, kicking aside 28 shots through two periods, allowing Laval to jump out to a 3-0 lead.  It turned out they’d need that cushion with the Moose getting a pair from Dominic Toninato in the third but that’s as close as Manitoba could get.

Apr. 2: Laval 3, Manitoba 1 – This time, it was the Rocket’s turn to do their scoring in the third.  Down one heading into the final frame, they got goals from Sean Farrell, Jared Davidson, and William Trudeau in a span of less than five minutes in the back half of the period to give them the mini-sweep.

Apr. 5: Abbotsford 3, Laval 2 (SO) – Despite losing several players on recall to Vancouver, the Canucks are the hottest team in the AHL right now.  Still, it looked like Laval might get this one as they had a 2-0 lead in the third but couldn’t hold on.  After a scoreless overtime, it took until the fifth round of the shootout for a goal, coming off the stick of Jett Woo.

Apr. 6: Abbotsford 4, Laval 3 – The Rocket really struggled out of the gate in this one but despite it being their fourth game in six nights, they found another gear as the game went on.  Unfortunately, they were down by too many at that point although late goals from Davidson and Owen Beck made it interesting with the Rocket coming on strong at the end.

StatPack

Skaters:

# Player GP G A +/- SOG PIMS
2 Noel Hoefenmayer 4 0 0 +4 6 5
5 Gustav Lindstrom 1 0 0 E 1 2
12 Alex Barre-Boulet 4 1 3 +1 17 4
15 Sean Farrell 4 2 2 E 13 0
17 Alex Tuch 4 0 1 +1 3 0
18 Vincent Arseneau 3 0 1 E 0 0
20 Mark Estapa 1 0 0 E 0 0
21 Riley Kidney 2 0 0 -1 0 2
23 Tyler Wotherspoon 4 0 1 -2 2 2
24 Logan Mailloux 4 0 2 E 17 2
26 Will Dineen 2 0 0 -1 2 0
27 Laurent Dauphin 4 1 2 E 11 6
42 Lucas Condotta 4 0 1 -2 4 9
46 Vincent Sevigny 3 0 0 -1 1 4
48 Filip Mesar 4 0 1 E 6 0
49 Jared Davidson 4 2 2 +2 10 0
62 Owen Beck 4 1 1 E 6 4
63 Florian Xhekaj 4 2 1 +2 7 2
65 Zack Hayes 4 0 0 -1 1 7
81 Xavier Simoneau 4 0 0 -1 5 2
84 William Trudeau 4 2 0 +1 11 2

Goalies:

# Player Record GAA SV% SO
30 Cayden Primeau 2-0-1 1.54 .950 0
31 Connor Hughes 0-1-0 4.99 .857 0

Shootout – Skaters:

# Player G/ATT
12 Alex Barre-Boulet 0/1
15 Sean Farrell 0/1
24 Logan Mailloux 0/1
49 Jared Davidson 0/1
63 Florian Xhekaj 0/1

Shootout – Goalies:

# Player SVS/SF
30 Cayden Primeau 4/5

Team Leaders:

Goals: Laurent Dauphin (25)
Assists: Alex Barre-Boulet (37)
Points: Alex Barre-Boulet (58)
+/-: Laurent Dauphin (+22)
PIMS: Florian Xhekaj (161)
Shots: Joshua Roy (164)

News and Notes

– It was not a good week to be a defenceman.  David Reinbacher didn’t accompany the team on the road as his return continues to be managed carefully.  He did, however, skate in Laval so his injury isn’t too serious.  Meanwhile, Adam Engstrom missed all four games, Gustav Lindstrom was injured in the first one, while Noel Hoefenmayer was taken to hospital in the first game against Abbotsford but surprisingly played the next night.

– In corresponding moves, Vincent Sevigny was recalled from ECHL Trois-Rivieres but missed the first period of the second game due to a delayed flight.  Connor McDonald was signed to an ATO but didn’t suit up and was subsequently released.

– Meanwhile, Connor Hughes left the final game of the trip early with an injury while Mark Estapa was injured in his pro debut.  Both suffered lower-body injuries and are out indefinitely pending further evaluation.

– There was some good news on the injury front, however, as Luke Tuch returned after missing nearly eight weeks.

– In other moves from last week, Jacob Fowler signed a one-way deal and was added to the roster.

– Some context on Joshua Roy leading Laval in shots on goal – he hasn’t been with the team for the last month.  He will be surpassed by Alex Barre-Boulet on that front soon, however, likely in Laval’s next game.

Last Game’s Lines:

Farrell – Dauphin – Barre-Boulet
Davidson – Condotta – Simoneau
Kidney – Beck – Mesar
Arseneau – Xhekaj – Tuch

Wotherspoon – Trudeau
Hoefenmayer – Mailloux
Sevigny – Hayes

The Week Ahead

Friday at Rochester – Considering Laval is in first place overall, there aren’t many big games in the standings left on the schedule but this one qualifies.  The Amerks are just four points behind them in the North Division standings so winning this would all but secure top spot in the division at a minimum while a regulation loss would make it a close race to the finish.  One of their top scorers, Noah Ostlund, was recently recalled to Buffalo so Laval could catch a break there.  Devon Levi has played quite well with Rochester, posting a 2.16 GAA and a .920 SV% in in 39 games this season.

Saturday at Syracuse – The Crunch are a pretty safe bet to make the playoffs but this will be a big game for them as they look to lock up the third seed and avoid the first round (or as I tend to call it, the play-in round).  The two teams have played each other tough this season with Laval posting a 4-3 record thus far.  Veteran Conor Sheary is pacing the way for them offensively, averaging just over a point-per-game in a balanced attack; they don’t have a single 20-goal scorer.  By comparison, Laval has five.

Final Thought

With one of Montreal’s top prospects – Jacob Fowler – being signed and Laval’s commitment to playing the youngsters, how he’ll be used down the stretch and in the playoffs is a topic of some discussion.  However, I’m not sure the decision on what to do with him is going to be that difficult.

In the short-term, the injury to Connor Hughes allows Fowler to at least serve as the backup to Cayden Primeau.  It seems reasonable to think he’ll get two out of the remaining five games on the schedule if they stick to their rotation.  That’s the easy part.

But what should the priority be in the playoffs?  That’s usually when the switch flips to winning taking a bigger priority over development.  From an organizational perspective, getting Fowler the experience would be great.  But Primeau has been nothing short of fantastic since being sent down after Christmas and has done nothing to lose his net.  He also dragged Laval to an improbable Conference Final not too long ago.  It’s his net and he’s earned a ton of rope.

Fowler is going to play a big role in Laval soon enough.  He’s probably either platooning with Jakub Dobes next season (if the Habs sign a veteran backup) or the 1A option with a veteran backup behind him (with Dobes in Montreal).  Either way, there’s a path to consistent playing time which is needed for goalies to develop.  But while there’s excitement about him joining the Rocket now, don’t expect to see much of him in the next little while, barring injury, of course.