After dismantling Cleveland at five-on-five in Game 1, Laval knew it had the advantage going into Game 2. This was a Monsters team that failed to beat the Rocket in regulation during the regular season, and on Friday night, after beating Cleveland handily in Game 1, Laval came out of the gates hot.
The lines remained the same from Game 1. Fans and media speculated whether Cayden Primeau would retake his role as starter after his stint with the Canadiens, but Jacob Fowler got the nod in net, deservedly so after his 23-save performance in the opener.
The Rocket were ready from puck drop, setting up quickly and confidently on their first offensive rush. They didn’t have to wait long before seeing a result either, with Jared Davidson cashing in a one-timer from the top of the right circle, thanks to a cleanly won draw from Florian Xhekaj. The shot beat Jet Greaves blocker-side, and after a stellar performance in Game 1, the Rocket got to the Monsters’ netminder early in this one.
The goal came just 2:22 into the game, and was the Rocket’s second shot.
The goal went straight to the Rocket’s legs, with Laval probably committing to the body a little too much immediately afterward. Cleveland got a great chance right after the goal, with Laval chasing and scrambling in its own zone. Fowler was calm and in position, a trend that would continue all night.
The chance was a sobering moment for Laval, and the Rocket cleaned things up immediately. They were forechecking hard, clogging the neutral zone, stifling zone exits, and creating turnovers. Laval got a flurry of chances with just over 15 minutes left in the frame, the nicest of which had Sean Farrell spring Owen Beck from the neutral zone for a one-on-one chance that Greaves barely stopped.
The Rocket took advantage of the scramble created by Beck’s rush, with Logan Mailloux getting it back on net and Joshua Roy getting two chances to bang in the rebound. Logan Mailloux was noticeable early in the first, and continued to be throughout the game (he ended up a +1 with three shots on net).
Shortly after, we saw the other side of Mailloux, as the defender took his first penalty of the playoffs; he led all Rocket defencemen in penalty minutes during the regular season. Cleveland’s first power play was dangerous, but it only managed one shot, a blast from the point that Fowler handled.
With five minutes left in the first, Laval was leading 10-4 in shots, and, in my eyes, it was largely due to the forecheck. The Rocket didn’t give Cleveland a second to breathe. They finished every check, pressured every breakout attempt, and were largely successful in creating turnovers leading to scoring chances.
Nursing their one-goal lead, the Rocket took a defensive formation for the final two minutes of the period, content with shutting down scoring chances and flipping the puck to neutral ice.
At the end of the frame, the Rocket received a gift from James Malatesta, who chose to insert himself into an altercation between Brandon Gignac and Sam Knazko after the final whistle, plowing Gignac into the boards. Unsurprisingly, Malatesta received the only penalty on the play. I suppose he thought it was a worthwhile call while trailing in a playoff game and heading to the locker rooms.
The Rocket only got one real chance on their period-opening power play: a shot from the left circle from Alex Barré-Boulet. Other than that, the power play didn’t look great. Laval struggled to set up, and by the end of the two minutes, Fowler had carved a circle around his net with several puck retrievals. Fowler had some work to do after the failed power play, flashing the leather on a slot shot from Malatesta and stumping the Monsters once again.
Less than a minute later, Laval doubled down on its lead, with Lucas Condotta beating Greaves high glove off the rush just over three minutes into the period.
The goal was pure Nick Suzuki. Condotta was looking at Xavier Simoneau all the way, but I don’t think he had any intention of delivering the puck anywhere but the back of the net.
Minutes later, Fowler would be tested again but stood firm, deflecting a golden scoring chance from Justin Pearson into the corner. The Rocket had taken their foot off the gas physically just a little, and Cleveland responded by finishing every check available.
Florian Xhekaj certainly noticed the tone shift. On his next appearance, he went right up to Roman Ahcan after a whistle and punched him a couple of times, picking up a roughing call and sending Laval to the penalty kill seven minutes into the period.
The Rocket held the Monsters shotless for the man advantage, and Cleveland’s second effort looked marginally less dangerous than its first. Right after the kill, Laurent Dauphin got a breakaway opportunity, beating Greaves five-hole, but Monsters defenseman Hunter McKown saved the puck on the goal line. The Rocket could have easily had another three goals at that point of the game.
Xhekaj continued to be a nightmare for the Monsters, toeing the line every shift and certainly causing more than his fair share of headaches (literally). To quote the Cleveland broadcast, “Xhekaj could have a penalty every play.”
This was a chippy game, with both teams struggling to gain consistent, organized, offensive-zone pressure and the Rocket got their third power play of the night with just over five minutes left in the second after a bench minor was called on Cleveland for too many men on the ice.
Mailloux was again visible offensively. His size and mobility were on display, and his shot looked heavy as always. I also thought he was fairly sound defensively for most of the game (ignore the clip further down as an example of this).
Laval wasn’t credited with a shot on its third man advantage, but Mailloux hit a crossbar early on, and Owen Beck got a great look from the left circle in the dying seconds of the man-advantage.
Funnily enough, the five-on-five possession they had right after the power play was both more organized and more dangerous than the power play that preceded it. Xavier Simoneau missed an open cage by inches after a great passing play. Unfortunately, he took a tripping penalty just seconds later while battling for the loose puck behind the net with less than three minutes to go in the frame.
Cleveland couldn’t really get anything going on its third man advantage of the game, and the game headed into the third with the Rocket leading 2-0, outshooting the Monsters 20-13.
Cleveland was buzzing when the puck dropped for the final period, controlling play for the opening three minutes. Davidson was crushed by Malatesta (who, if you’ve only read this article, you may think is Cleveland’s only player), forcing a turnover and giving Fowler a tough save through traffic. This was just under three minutes in, and by that point Cleveland had been cycling the zone for 80% of the period.
It needs to be mentioned that Cleveland was in Fowler’s grill all night long. At one point in the second period, Cleveland alternate captain Trey Fix-Wolansky tailed Fowler to and from the bench in between whistles, presumably complimenting him on his performance so far. After Fowler’s next save on Stanislav Svozil, all hell broke loose in front of the net, with Malatesta and Xhekaj unsurprisingly in the middle of it. Davidson and Joseph Lebate also picked up penalties, and everything ended up still at five-on-five. To be clear, this scrum happened during play, not after a whistle.
With 14:55 left in the final frame, Fowler made his best save of the night, robbing Rocco Grimaldi with the glove in what was arguably the Monsters’ best chance. A great cross-ice pass set up the solid one-timer, shut down by the rookie netminder.
That save from Fowler seemed to suck the life out of the Monsters. The Rocket would control the next minute of play and extended their lead by one more with 12:45 left in the third.
This one was a backbreaker for Cleveland. Sean Farrell sent the puck blindly on net, and it deflected off of Barré-Boulet. Greaves got a piece with his blocker, then can only watch the puck soar over his shoulder into the net. All the while, Barré-Boulet is taking a nasty high stick in front of the net.
With almost 13 minutes left in the game, the Rocket closed it out, committing to a defensive shell. Things got a little chippy midway through when Davidson and Denton Mateychuck (who’s got a heck of a mean streak, Columbus might have a gem, just don’t tell them that) took offsetting calls, resulting in a four-on-four situation. With the extra ice, Laval scored once again, capitalizing on lazy play from the Monsters, who, at this point, had been phoning it in for at least six minutes.
I’m not sure if Laurent Dauphin wanted the shot or the pass, but he got both. His wrister from the point was saved, but the rebound was served on a silver platter to Gustav Lindström, who made no mistake, making it 4-0 with 5:30 left in the game.
Both teams had a few chances in the final minutes of the frame. Cleveland came alive once it was playing for pride. Fowler made five saves in the final four minutes of the game, including two unbelievable stops on Luca Pinelli.
The one below was sensational with less than a minute left in his shutout bid.
The Rocket closed the game out with maturity, as Montreal Canadiens coach Martin St-Louis would have said. They outshot Cleveland 29-20 and were inarguably the better team at the end of the night. Boasting a 20-save shutout, Fowler made a statement, but it was a team effort from Laval in Game 2.
Final Score Laval 4, Cleveland 0
Laval leads the best-of-five series 2-0
Laval will be back in action at home for Game 3 on Sunday. Puck drop is scheduled for 3 PM ET. It’s unconfirmed whether Jacob Fowler will get the start, but it seems more than likely, considering the netminder’s performance through two road games to start the series.
