Rocket @ Bruins recap and highlights: Cayden Primeau shines in shootout win

Cayden Primeau made the 40th save of his night on a Cameron Hughes shootout attempt and secured the Laval Rocket’s 3-2 win over the Providence Bruins in Rhode Island on Saturday night.

The win ended Laval’s three-game losing streak and gave them a 1-1-1 record in their three game road trip.

Charles Hudon and Phil Varone scored in the shootout for the Rocket. Peter Cehlarik scored Providence’s lone shootout goal.

The game started off inauspiciously for the Rocket when Gustav Olofsson took a delay of game penalty for shooting the puck over the glass just 18 seconds into the game. The Bruins wouldn’t capitalize, however, as the American Hockey League’s top penalty killing unit went 3/3 on the night, raising their season total to 34/35 (97.1%).

Just under nine minutes into the game, Cehlarik jumped on a loose puck in the offensive zone and took a shot on Primeau. The shot was saved, but the rebound beat the Rocket goaltender and the Bruins went up 1-0.

Late in the period, the Rocket tied the game before the intermission. David Sklenicka, making his return to the lineup kept the puck in at the line and fed Phil Varone. Varone then sidestepped a Bruin and make a perfect pass to Alex Belzile who beat Kyle Keyser for his fourth goal of the season.

Despite being outshot 14-5 in the first period, Laval was tied 1-1 after one period.

In the second period, shortly after Laval killed their third straight penalty, Jack Studnicka won a faceoff back to Paul Carey who fired a wrist shot past Primeau from the point.

Like they did in the first period, Laval bounced back. Less than 10 minutes later, the Rocket returned the favour on their first power play of the game. Jake Evans won the faceoff back to Xavier Ouellet. Ouellet shot the puck and after Keyser made the save, the puck rebounded into the net.

The game tightened up after that goal. The third period saw the two teams with only nine shots combined through the first 15 minutes. The teams ended up with eight shots in the final frame.

With just over a minute remaining, Dale Weise and Michael McCarron had great opportunities in the slot, but Keyser was up to the task saving a point for the Bruins and sending the game to overtime.

Laval had plenty of chances to end the game before the shootout. Varone and Evans each got a breakaway but were unable to beat Keyser. They also had a power play for the final 1:40 of overtime, but were unable to capitalize despite coming close several times, including a Varone post.

Keyser, despite making 25 saves to Primeau’s 38, was instrumental in earning the Bruins a point, especially late.

Notes

• The Rocket made several changes to their lineup from Friday’s game. Dale Weise, Matthew Peca, and Michael McCarron returned to the lineup. Weise was a healthy scratch, Peca was injured, and McCarron was serving a two-game suspension. They replaced Kevin Lynch, Riley Barber, and Michael Pezzetta. Barber left Friday’s game with an injury and will be re-evaluated when the team returns home.
• On defence, David Sklenicka returned to the lineup in place of Karl Alzner. It was Sklenicka’s first game since October 5.

• With the win, the Rocket improved to 2-3-0 when allowing the first goal. They are 2-2-1 when scoring first.
• The Rocket will return home for two games against the Hartford Wolfpack on Wednesday and Friday before finishing their weekend Saturday afternoon as they face the Toronto Marlies for the first time this season.

Three Stars
1. Phil Varone (1 assist, shootout goal, 3 shots)
2. Xavier Ouellet (1 goal, 4 shots)
3. Kyle Keyser (25 saves)