The Laval Rocket lost their fourth straight game following a 2-1 loss to the Charlotte Checkers on Saturday, the first of two straight games against their Atlantic Division opponent.
The Checkers opened the scoring at 7:27 of the first period after Lucas Wallmark received a feed from Andrew Miller. Mind the pun below.
Guess you could say the @RocketLaval tried to play chess when they should’ve playing checkers…1-0 Charlotte. pic.twitter.com/y0elFhjTyz
— Julian McKenzie (@jkamckenzie) December 16, 2017
Laval then responded with a power-play goal from defenceman Tom Parisi. Former Checker Chris Terry and Nikita Scherbak, who hass recorded a point in each American Hockey League game he’s played this season, assisted the marker. You can also see big Michael McCarron, screening Checkers goaltender Jeremy Smith as Parisi takes his shot.
Parisi’s goal. pic.twitter.com/ys6W4OPObc
— Julian McKenzie (@jkamckenzie) December 16, 2017
The Checkers just needed one more goal to secure the victory, and they got it in the form of a power-play goal from forward Valentin Zykov. He was on the receiving end of a tic-tac-toe passing play after being in the picture perfect position in front of Rocket goaltender Charlie Lindgren.
Valentin Zykov makes it 2-1 for the Checkers. pic.twitter.com/CBNsrrivlf
— Julian McKenzie (@jkamckenzie) December 17, 2017
The Rocket tried to respond with another game-tying marker, but Checkers netminder Smith did his best to hold the fort. Markus Eisenschmid was given a partial breakaway and tried to finish with his backhand, but the puck was stopped by Smith’s right pad. It ended up among the finest of Smith’s 20 saves on the night.
Markus Eisenschmid stopped by Jeremy Smith on this partial break pic.twitter.com/0wPN7VIh3T
— Julian McKenzie (@jkamckenzie) December 17, 2017
Come the third period, the Rocket were flat out dominated by the Checkers. Laval only mustered four shots in the period, in comparison to Charlotte’s 10. Clark Bishop iced the game with a empty-net goal in the final minute of regulation, giving the Checkers a 3-1 victory.
Lindgren’s record now falls to 3-6-5-1 on the season. He is winless since rejoining the Rocket on Nov. 24 after his stint with the Montreal Canadiens during Carey Price’s absence.
Overall, Laval was outshot 26-21 on top of being behind on the scoresheet. The Checkers are now 13-2-0-0 in games where they outshoot their opponents, with only the Toronto Marlies (14-2-0-0) sporting a better record. Conversely, Laval has been outshot in 18 of their 28 games this season, with a 6-8-3-1 record when it does happen. If you’re wondering, they’re 4-4-1-1 in games where they outshoot their opponents.
Laval plays the second game of their back-to-back against the Charlotte Checkers at 1:00 PM EST Sunday afternoon.
Three Stars
- Jeremy Smith, 21 saves
- Charlie Lindgren, 23 saves
- Lucas Wallmark, two points (1G, 1A)
