Coming into Friday night’s contest against the Bridgeport Islanders, the Laval Rocket were hammered by bad news for their forward group. Jared Davidson was set to miss six weeks with an upper-body injury, while Xavier Simoneau was undergoing shoulder surgery, and would miss the rest of the regular season. Without skipping a beat, however, coach J.-F. Houle put the newly acquired Arnaud Durandeau into the lineup in Simoneau’s spot on the second line with Philippe Maillet and Lias Andersson.
The rest of the lineup remained the same as it was on Wednesday night when the Rocket secured an easy 5-1 win over this Islanders team. Jakub Dobeš was again the named starter on the night, looking to continue his strong second half and secure another important win for the Rocket.
It did not take long for the Rocket to get things going, finding the back of the net on their first trip into the offensive zone. Andersson kept the play alive behind the Islanders’ net, throwing a shot on goal that bounced off Jakub Skarek’s pads. Tobie Paquette-Bisson jumped all over the loose puck, firing his eighth goal of the year home to make it a 1-0 game.
The Islanders were not going to roll over that quickly. On the following shift, a long shot from Robin Salo received a deft deflection in front of goal from Ruslan Iskhakov, tying the game inside the first two minutes.
Laval soon took the lead back as they continued to do whatever they wanted against the Islanders’ defence. William Trudeau played a bank-pass into the offensive zone for Mitchell Stephens, and Stephens in turn flicked a pass into the open slot. Riley Kidney was all over the pass, collecting it and roofing a shot to restore the Rocket’s lead.
A Rocket power play appeared to turn the tide as the first period passed its halfway point. The Islanders fended off a dangerous looking advantage from the Rocket, and then took the reins as they pushed hard for a tying goal. It was Dobeš who ended up being the saving grace as the first period ended as he made an incredible pad save to rob Bridgeport as the period was entering its final minute.
As period two started it was still one-way traffic, with the Islanders stonewalling the Rocket’s attempts to break out or even clear their zone in the first place. It resulted in a much more hectic time for Dobeš, who was often scrambling to get back and forth between his posts.
Eventually the Islanders’ relentless pressure broke the Rocket down enough that Justin Barron was called for hooking, putting Laval on a crucial penalty kill. Laval’s penalty-killers were in peak form, smothering the Islanders’ chances. As the Rocket defenceman exited the box, Laval suddenly found itself in a three-on-one situation, but the eventual shot from Lucas Condotta went wide of the net.
Much like the Islanders’ early penalty kill, this also seemed to tip the momentum in favour of the team killing off the penalty. With Aidan Fulp sitting for a delay of game penalty, the Rocket power play got a second chance to make an impact. In just 16 seconds, they pushed their lead up to two goals as the puck cycled over to Philippe Maillet at the point and he fired a wrist shot through Skarek to make it a 3-1 contest.
Maillet’s goal put the control firmly back into Laval’s hands as the second period came to a close. A big third period lay ahead for the Rocket, as the Islanders were not going down quietly.
With another key win in sight, the Rocket were happy to take the opening half of the third period to slowly grind out the clock, and take care of the puck to keep their lead intact. The defensive efforts had the intended impact, as the Islanders were barely able to put any shots on net as the final 10 minutes of regulation approached.
As a period of four-on-four was coming to an end, Logan Mailloux drew a tripping call and put the Rocket back on the power play with the chance to put the game away. Unfortunately for the Rocket, the best shot of the power play was the one that hit Mitchell Stephens in the side of the head, and as the advantage expired, the Islanders went to a power play of their own.
Another strong penalty kill allowed the Rocket to keep their two-goal advantage intact heading into the final minutes of regulation, and forced the Islanders into an early goalie pull. With just over three minutes remaining, the Rocket faced an extended six-on-five attack. Again it was an incredible showing of patience and discipline as the Rocket kept the Islanders to low-danger areas as the minutes bled off the clock.
One last clear left the Islanders with no time left for a miracle comeback, and pushed the Rocket winning streak to four games.
Final Score: Laval 3, Bridgeport 1
It marked the end of a fantastic week for the Rocket, who went from playoff longshots, to right back in the thick of things. Up next is a Sunday afternoon match with one of the teams also chasing a playoff spot, the Toronto Marlies. Puck drop is set for 4:00 PM in Toronto.
