After closing out the previous week with an emphatic win over Cleveland and then getting a helping hand throughout the week, the Laval Rocket found themselves on the cusp of an AHL playoff berth. The goal itself was very simple: win against the Toronto Marlies in any fashion and they were in. Even if they lost they could still slide in depending on other results, but against a hated rival in Toronto, it seemed like that wouldn’t be an acceptable path for the players.
David Reinbacher was held out of the lineup on Friday with a back-to-back situation facing the Rocket this weekend. The defensive structure remained the same as Saturday’s win with Gustav Lindström and Tyler Wotherspoon anchoring the first pair. The forward lines also remained the same, with the newly arrived Mark Estapa not ready to make his debut and Luke Tuch not quite cleared for game situations. In net, Cayden Primeau got the nod as he looked to extend his dominant AHL run.
It took the Rocket 60 seconds to open the scoring thanks to some hard work and maybe a bit of luck from their second line. Riley Kidney dug out a puck from a board battle and filtered it back to William Trudeau at the point. Trudeau put a shot toward the net with Xavier Simoneau running interference in the crease, allowing the puck to sneak through Dennis Hildeby to open the scoring.
Laval continued to control the pace of play, with the fourth line continuing to fluster the Marlies. Eventually a quick Florian Xhekaj counter-attack forced Marshall Rifai to tackle him to the ice, drawing the first penalty of the game. While the Rocket power play wasn’t able to beat Hildeby a second time, they pushed the Marlies back onto their heels in a big way.
Following the Rocket’s power play every shift was the Rocket swarming the Marlies’ puck-carriers and giving up nothing in terms of shots on goal as the first period ticked on. Laval’s top line kept the momentum rolling as Laurent Dauphin split the defence while dropping a pass back to a lingering Kidney, who whistled his shot just over the crossbar.
With the lead still at one goal, Xhekaj was caught trying to slow down Dakota Mermis and put Toronto on their first power play of the night. Even with one of their top penalty-killers in the box, the Rocket special teams smothered the Marlies at every turn. Alex Barré-Boulet and Dauphin spent 20 seconds playing around with the puck while short-handed deep in the Toronto zone and helped Xhekaj escape.
Toronto did finally start to find its legs, with Alex Steeves being able to latch onto a stretch pass, forcing Primeau to deny not only his breakaway shot, but the rebound chance in tight as well.
It was Primeau again making a difference as the period came to a close, with Nick Abruzzese picking off a pass and starting a three-on-one rush. As he dropped it back to a trailing shooter, Primeau came up with a massive pad save to keep Laval’s lead intact heading into the first intermission.
The start to the second period was not graceful for the Rocket as their passes were finding more of their opponents’ sticks than their own teammates’. While defending a Toronto cycle, Jared Davidson was called for holding back Joseph Blandisi, putting the Rocket back on the penalty kill. Laval’s kill again stood tall, with Primeau swallowing up every shot thrown his way and giving Toronto zero second-chance opportunities.
Toronto took its early momentum and was pushing the Rocket back onto their heels, looking like a tying goal was all but inevitable. As a chance squeaked through Primeau it seemed like Adam Engström had sprung into action to save a goal, but on the replay the Marlies forward at the side of the net had swiped the puck out of the crease.
Tempers began to flare as Davidson chose to square up with Zach Solow off a faceoff drop, and Davidson came out on top as he drove Solow to the ice and got up to instantly play to the home crowd as well.
Davidson’s fight lit a fire under the Rocket as the top line went back to work, with Sean Farrell drawing a penalty as he battled in the slot to get a shot off. It took all of six seconds for the Rocket man advantage to punish Toronto for its mistake. Farrell worked into the open slot and put a shot on net, generating a rebound for Barré-Boulet to swat home to double the lead.
Right off the ensuing faceoff Xavier Simoneau took a stick to the face, sending the Rocket back to the power play to further their lead. Laval’s special teams continued to be the star of the game as the lead increased to three goals. Filip Mesar worked off the half wall, passing off to Lucas Condotta on the goal line. The Rocket captain quickly fed Xhekaj in the slot, and Xhekaj made no mistake from there.
Toronto chose to ramp up the physicality, trying to hammer the Rocket into making mistakes, but any errors that did happen were instantly snuffed out by Primeau. The Rocket netminder was dialed in with a three-goal cushion, including a sliding glove save to put an exclamation point on the end of the period.
With a three goal lead, the Rocket had just 20 minutes standing between themselves and being the first North Division team to clinch a playoff berth.
It was all Rocket as the period got under way, with their second line hemming the Marlies deep in their own zone and forcing their top lines to defend wave after wave of attack. While it looked like Condotta had drawn a call, the play went the other way and it was Tyler Wotherspoon who ended up tripping up a Toronto forward and putting Laval short-handed.
Toronto’s power play lasted all of 35 seconds before Simoneau annoyed Logan Shaw enough for the Marlies captain to slash him in the mouth and draw a double-minor for his troubles. With Shaw in the box the Rocket smelled blood in the water before their power play began as they hemmed Toronto in their own end, and then went to work on a slightly extended man advantage. While the Rocket didn’t add to their lead, they were clearly in command as the final 10 minutes of regulation began to tick down.
With the final minutes approaching, Toronto’s attack became more and more intense as they tried to cut into the Rocket lead. Eventually a last-gasp keep at the blue line worked down to Jacob Quillan, who snuck it under Primeau’s blocker to spoil the shutout bid.
Barré-Boulet promptly quashed any hopes of the comeback as he took a feed from Condotta, threw it into the empty net, and restored the three-goal cushion for the Rocket.
From there it was all over except for the celebrating as the Rocket slammed the door shut, officially claiming a Calder Cup playoff berth.
Final Score: Laval 4, Toronto 1
With the playoffs locked up, the Rocket now shift their focus to the North Division title. The first team in their way will be the Lehigh Valley Phantoms who will enter Place Bell for a match on Saturday.
League standings
