If you’re tired of the negativity surrounding the Canadiens losing to the Leafs last night, look no further for some positivity.
The Bulldogs had three games this week, winning twice and losing once, and perhaps the most important story line coming out of the week is Louis Leblanc breaking out of his slump.
On Wednesday, Leblanc and the Bulldogs opened the week with a 6-4 win over the Toronto Marlies, in that game Leblanc scored twice, including the game winner. On Leblanc’s first goal he showed off his slick stick-handling before backhanding the puck into the yawning cage. For his second he converted a Gabriel Dumont pass while going to the dirty areas. If Leblanc continues to play aggressively we’ll see his numbers continue to rise.
Leblanc has a penchant for scoring against the Marlies. His last two goal game came against Toronto’s AHL farm team. On October 19th he put two by Ben Scrivens in a 4-1 win.
While the Canadiens have scored 1 goal in two games against the Maple Leafs, Leblanc has scored 4 of his 6 goals this season on Maple Leafs property. (Rynnas and Scrivens)
On Friday the Bulldogs were shutout 3-0 by the Chicago Wolves, in that game Leblanc recorded 2 of his teams 23 shots.
Last night, the Bulldogs took on the AHL’s number 1 ranked team, and beat them 2-1, Leblanc assisted on Greg Pateryn’s game winning goal late in the third. For a total of 2 goals and 1 assist in 3 games this week.
Leblanc struggled this season after suffering a high ankle sprain while fighting the Toronto Marlies’ Jesse Blacker. After cracking the Canadiens lineup last season, hopes were high for Leblanc, but he didn’t have the same jump that saw him play 42 NHL games last year
Hopefully this is just the beginning of Leblanc’s revival, if he continues his strong play we’ll see him garnering some more POTW honours soon.
Special mention goes to Greg Pateryn, who also put up good numbers this week. He scored his first career AHL goal on Wednesday against Toronto, and added the game winner yesterday against Texas. He’s another player who’s season was hindered due to injuries, but maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
