The Laval Rocket have lost five games out of six, and while some of those games were relatively close, Friday night’s 6-1 loss to the Toronto Marlies at Coca Cola Coliseum was not.
As bad as the game was, in a way, it might be more beneficial in the long run, according to head coach Jean-François Houle.
“Sometimes losing a game is not easy for the mentality of the players,” Houle said. “[A game like this] forces us to look in the mirror and try to find answers to put us on the right track and we will work, look at the video and try to find solutions.”
Without three players who were key to their best stretch of the season in Arber Xhekaj, Lucas Condotta, and Brandon Gignac, it will not be an easy task. Condotta is expected to join the team in time for Saturday’s rematch after being sent down by the Montreal Canadiens earlier on Friday.
“There has definitely been a change to the players we have available, but there are players in the room who need to give the effort to win,” Houle said.
The Rocket and Marlies were tied 1-1 after two periods, but Laval was being outplayed. They were outshot 27-17, and the game would have been over a lot earlier if not for Jakub Dobeš. The goaltender made several key saves, including on a three-on-one and in the slot on a chance in the dying seconds of the second period.
“We had no jam tonight. They played well against us, especially forcing turnovers,” Houle said. “We were in the game after two periods, our goaltender made key saves. Turnovers cost us, a lot of soft plays.”
Logan Shaw opened the scoring with a power play goal 3:53 into the game. It was his first of three goals on the night. The lead wouldn’t last long. Only 14 seconds later, Mitchell Stephens capitalized on a turnover deep in the Marlies end to score his sixth goal of the season.
Mitchell Stephens profite de la confusion des Marlies pour marquer!
— Rocket de Laval (@RocketLaval) February 10, 2024
Mitchell Stephens takes advantage of the Marlies' confusion to score!#GoRocket https://t.co/6E38TCLfN0 pic.twitter.com/rc2bCmDjAP
The third period is where the wheels fell off for the Rocket. They allowed three goals in 2:50 that put the game out of reach. William Villeneuve gave Toronto a 2-1 lead when he trailed the play and took a pass in the high slot and beat Dobeš with a snap shot.
That was followed up by a Marshall Rifai point shot that went through traffic and beat Dobeš to make it 3-1 and only 15 seconds after that, Shaw scored his second of the game to make it 4-1.
With 7:34 remaining, the Rocket had a power play and Houle pulled Dobeš for the extra attacker. Neither team scored, and Marlies goaltender Dennis Hildeby tried to, but ultimately after the penalty expired former Rocket Joe Blandisi scored into the empty net to make it 5-1 and less than a minute after that, Shaw completed the hat trick with 3:50 to go in the game.
The two teams play again on Saturday afternoon to complete the back-to-back. Kasimir Kaskisuo will get the start and face his former team in the arena he called home while a member of the Toronto organization.
Lineup
With Brandon Gignac recalled, there were a few changes, including Riley Kidney at centre of the fourth line. Gabriel Bourque also returned to the lineup after being out. Emil Heineman left the game in the second period after taking an awkward fall into the boards and did not return. Jared Davidson ended up playing more as a result, and had some of the best chances for Laval.
Standings
The North Division is incredibly tight with third place and seventh place being separated by only four points. Laval fell to last place in the division with a loss, but could be back in a playoff spot with a win on Saturday. As teams go through winning and losing streaks, the last 28 games will see a ton of movement especially since so many of the remaining games are among divisional opponents.
