The Laval Rocket opened their series against the Rochester Americans with a 5-4 comeback victory. Multiple big-name prospects stood out for positive and negative reasons.
Logan Mailloux
The word constantly inserted into my consciousness when I watched Logan Mailloux on night was “assertive.” Mailloux finished with a goal and an assist, giving him four points in his last two games.
The growth he has enjoyed this season, and especially this post-season, is impressive to say the least. I particularly noticed his defensive responsibility while quarterbacking the power play, which he runs with extreme success.
Mailloux made the right decisions on Wednesday. He chose appropriate times to pinch and was a steady, reliable presence on the back end. It’s something that he’s had trouble doing consistently in his career, but is starting to make that happen.
Oliver Kapanen
Oliver Kapanen is a cut above the rest. He played a solid game through the neutral zone on Wednesday, and in the offensive zone, he dominated. His dominance finally showed on the scoresheet, as the crafty Finn picked up his first points of the post-season. That included the game-winning goal, a deflection from a Mailloux point shot that gave the Rocket the lead with five minutes remaining in the third.
I did notice some stumbles from Kapanen, specifically while exiting the defensive zone. He turned the puck over three times while attempting outlet passes, something that needs polishing.
Joshua Roy
Joshua Roy had a bad game on Wednesday, compounding his poor performances in his last two with his worst of the post-season. He was rarely in the right position, didn’t play the body effectively, and looked uninterested and disengaged for most of the game. I only saw him hustle when he realized he was drastically out of position, trying to mend his unforced error.
Every time he got taken down on Wednesday, he looked pleadingly towards the ref instead of getting back into the play. He didn’t play playoff hockey, and hasn’t in a while. The Rocket have some effective players sitting aside right now, and Roy’s place won’t be assured with these performances.
David Reinbacher
Reinbacher didn’t have his best game in Wednesday’s win, but I wouldn’t call his performance poor. In the first and second periods, he looked a step behind in the defensive zone during a couple of plays, one of which resulted in a goal. I thought he looked flustered at times, and it seemed every shift that Laval was on its heels, the Reinbacher-Adam Engström pairing was out. I thought that he looked a little tentative defensively. It seemed he wasn’t committing to playing the body or the angle, floating between the two, especially when giving chase.
His game settled down throughout the night, though. He was solid in front of the net but not as consistently tough in the corners as I would have liked (although the Rochester players might disagree with me, I didn’t have to endure it). Engström had a solid night on Wednesday, alleviating some of Reinbacher’s defensive shortcomings.
Owen Beck
Beck finished with two points on the night, both assists, but his impact was also felt off the scoresheet. He has really started to carve out a role for himself on a line with Florian Xhekaj. Beck’s mix of speed, tenacity, and weight makes for a fearsome forechecking presence. What he lacked in finishing touch he made up for in hustle.
He is supremely comfortable playing just below the left circle. He gets himself lost behind the net, then appears short-side and gets a quality scoring chance. The only problem is it doesn’t get buried half as much as he’d like it to.
Beck’s decision-making was on display on Wednesday as well. When he has time and space in the offensive zone, he rarely makes a mistake and often creates a dangerous chance.
Florian Xhekaj
Xhekaj is made for playoff hockey, and he loves it. I have to assume he idolizes the Tkachuk brothers, because his game is absolutely modelled after Matthew’s. Xhekaj skates well and has good hands. He’s opportunistic offensively but not purely so; he would much rather go behind the net and do the dirty work himself. His long reach and stride are great while transitioning through the neutral zone, and he is consistently defensively focused.
He was solid on Wednesday, finishing with an assist and three shots, and though he finished a -1, he was impactful every shift.
Laval will look to take a commanding 2-0 series lead on Friday in Rochester. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 PM ET.
