The Laval Rocket lost 5-1 on Friday as the Rochester Americans tied their five-game series 2-2 at Place Bell. Overall, the Rocket had a poor effort in the face of a conference final berth.
Joshua Roy
Roy had his best game of the series on Friday, and it’s the second game in a row I’ve written that statement. He didn’t have a perfect game; I still thought his physical presence was less than acceptable, and his defensive play through the neutral zone was … awful. But he was better. He clearly enjoys playing with Oliver Kapanen, and I think if you added a heavier forechecking presence (Owen Beck, Florian Xhekaj, or Luke Tuch) it could be a seriously effective line.
When I say his defensive play through the neutral zone was awful, I should also add that sometimes he doesn’t even bother. He doesn’t even make it all the way to the defensive zone most of the time, instead opting to catch a change on the backcheck. On his line, he’s almost always the first guy off the ice. Roy did score on Friday, his second goal in consecutive games, but it was a rebound that resulted from Adam Engström’s hard work. He did stand out in the offensive zone, but Kapanen drove the play for the line.
Adam Engström
Engström has some offensive upside. More and more I’m noticing his instincts on the blue line, and they’re pretty dead on. On Friday, I watched him get pucks deep with a high degree of success, and the Rocket benefited. He was responsible for Laval’s best offensive sequence in the first period and for its only goal.
It does appear that his recent offensive success has given him extra confidence to pinch in the neutral zone. This habit worked against him. He also made a couple ill-advised D-to-D passes that resulted in Rochester scoring chances.
Overall, I think he was the Rocket’s most noticeable defenceman in Game 4. He also was one of just four players with a positive rating on Friday.
Oliver Kapanen
Kapanen would have scored a lot of points with the Rocket this season if he hadn’t gone back to the SHL. He has looked better every game as he builds chemistry with his linemates and, personally, I think he should get a lot of the credit for Roy’s play in the last two games. Kapanen gives Roy and the defencemen on the ice the freedom to play offensively without worrying about the back end. Kapanen is highly aware of the defenceman joining the rush and knows when to fall back to avoid odd-man rushes. The defensive presence he brings to the line, especially through the neutral zone, created the majority of the trio’s chances on Friday. He finished the game with three shots.
Owen Beck
Beck is a gamer. In a match where Laval’s effort as a whole was unacceptable, his stood out. I’ll admit, he was a little less ferocious on the forecheck, but his hustle was great all night. He goes all-in for loose pucks and is tenacious defensively without sacrificing positioning. He also reads passing lanes very well. Beck finished a -2 on the night, and certainly wasn’t perfect, but his play stood out as one of the lone positives for the Rocket.
Jacob Fowler
Unsteady and overwhelmed. Those are the words I would use to describe Fowler’s performance on Friday. When Cayden Primeau came in to relieve him in the second period, it was just that, a relief. In my last blurb about Fowler, I said I’d yet to see him mentally fazed. Rochester scored on its second shot, and he was certainly rattled. He was not a solid presence between the pipes and was fighting the puck all night until he was pulled 30 minutes in.
Fowler was beaten cleanly three times on Friday, twice from the slot and once from the point. He allowed four goals on 14 shots before being pulled. The outing will test just how strongly Pascal Vincent and co. will stand by their 50/50 goalie split, as Primeau has been excellent so far.
Laval plays a do-or-die Game 5 this afternoon. Puck drop is scheduled for 4:30 PM ET at Place Bell.
