The Laval Rocket put 33 shots on goal, but in the end it was not enough to beat Dylan Garand and the Hartford Wolf Pack in a 2-1 loss on Friday night at the XL Center.
Garand was the game’s first star and thwarted an inspired Laval attack in the final period. The last five minutes of the third period saw Laval attacking from all angles. Laval only registered three shots in that span, but many more attempts were blocked before reaching the net or went wide.
The Rocket fell behind early on in the game when Brandon Scanlin hammered a one-time slapshot off of a Turner Elson drop pass to beat Jakub Dobeš. The goal was scored only 3:06 into the game.
The Wolf Pack doubled their lead on the power play. While Logan Mailloux was in the box for tripping, Brett Berard took the puck down low and skated up to the left wing circle before firing a shot past Dobeš. Despite allowing the two goals early, the Rocket goaltender shut things down the rest of the way.
The game entered the intermission 2-0, but Laval fought back after the second Hartford goal, outshooting the Wolf Pack 5-0 in the final six minutes of the frame.
That momentum continued into the second period. Only 39 seconds into the middle frame, Emil Heineman started and finished a give-and-go play with Brandon Gignac and had a wide open net to play with. It was Heineman’s 11th goal of the season.
Heineman de Gignac et Simoneau!
— Rocket de Laval (@RocketLaval) March 2, 2024
Heineman assisted by Gignac and Simoneau! #GoRocket https://t.co/yjjYBcfzUV pic.twitter.com/RbkXvjnRrE
The Rocket had two power plays in the period after scoring, but were unable to capitalize. Hartford went 1/4 in the game on their power plays with the only goal coming on what was the eventual game-winner.
Laval held a 13-9 advantage in shots in the second period.
In the third period, the Rocket pushed for an equalizer but were unable to beat Garand for a second time. The shots were 10-6 in the third and 33-24 overall.
Laval has now split the first two games of their three-game road trip which concludes Saturday night in Springfield against the Thunderbirds. They defeated the Bridgeport Islanders 4-0 on Wednesday.
Lineup
After being a healthy scratch on Wednesday, Riley Kidney replaced Riley McKay, who was not able to play. There were no other changes to the lineup. Strauss Mann is now the backup to Dobeš with Kasimir Kaskisuo now week-to-week with an injury.
Standings
The Rocket are still on the outside looking-in on the playoff race, but with so many divisional games to go to close out their season, their fate does lie in their own hands. They likely need to go on another winning streak to have a real chance at passing the teams ahead of them.
