The Montreal Canadiens AHL affiliate set a franchise record.
by Chris G, Rocket Sports, Montreal Canadiens blogger
The Laval Rocket were at Place Bell for a three-game homestand, hosting the Utica Comets (New Jersey Devils) on Wednesday, followed by a weekend doubleheader against the Providence Bruins.
Wednesday: Utica Comets 2 – Laval Rocket 3
Riley Kidney broke the ice in the second period as he fought off a defender to record his first tally of the year. The Comets answered back with a goal and Jared Davidson gave the lead back to the home team before the second intermission with a one-timer. Florian Xhekaj increased the lead with an empty netter in the final minute in what ended up being the game winner as Utica made it a one-goal match with 0:04 remaining in regulation.
With the victory, the Rocket won three consecutive matches against the Devils affiliate. "Before the game I said 'We're up 2-0 in the series. It's a best of five. We need to win that one.' That was the approach tonight. We're trying to put that mindset of playoff hockey all the time," Pascal Vincent explained. "If you're not going to do it in the playoffs, don't do it today."
Friday: Providence Bruins 1 – Laval Rocket 2
The home team profited of a power play to get on the board when Davidson fired a one-timer behind the goalie for the lead in the first period. The Bruins tied it at the tail end of the second frame when a giveaway by Sean Farrell led to the puck behind Connor Hughes. Early in the third period, Brandon Gignac created a turnover in the offensive zone and set up Owen Beck for a shorthanded goal.
"We lost 66% of our faceoffs, so we kept running after the puck," Vincent said in a game where Providence outshot Laval 28-16. "In the third period, we won a little bit more faceoffs and we had a better period offensively, so we had less time defensively."
Saturday: Providence Bruins 3 – Laval Rocket 6
The Bruins got on the board first when midway through the opening period a shot from the blue line was redirected before crossing the red line. Vincent Arseneau tied it in the final minute when his pass attempt changed direction as the puck hit the defender and fooled the goalie.
Logan Mailloux doubled the lead in the second period when the defenceman used the traffic in front of the net to land a wrist shot deep into the net. The Bruins replied back less than two minutes later to keep the teams even. Joshua Roy sent Laval to the locker room in the second intermission with a two-goal lead with a pair of goals in under four minutes.
Providence pulled their goalie late in the third period and successfully cut the lead to one. The game became out of reach as Laurent Dauphin lit the red light and Roy completed his second career AHL hat trick into an empty net.
The victory extended the win streak to seven games, a new franchise record.
Roster News
With Kaiden Guhle and Justin Barron being cleared to return to actions, the Montreal Canadiens assigned Logan Mailloux to the Rocket on Wednesday. Mailloux dressed for five NHL games, where he recorded three points in five games, while averaging 16:30 ice time.
"I had some good flashes but I don't think I played my best hockey every night. I don't think I played good enough to force their hand to keep me," said the 21-year-old. The Canadiens 31st overall pick of the 2021 draft, collected four points over the weekend.
Jakub Dobes did not dress for the weekend series against the Bruins AHL affiliate. The goaltender was sidelined with a lower-body injury and is considered day-to-day. Dobes seemed uncomfortable after allowing a goal in the final moments of the matchups versus Utica on Wednesday.
In his absence, Connor Hughes obtained both starts against Providence. On Friday, the 28-year-old kept his team in the game by making 27 saves and was named third star. The following day, he stopped 30 pucks in the rematch. In five games, he had 4-1 record, 1.81 goals against average and .937 save percentage.
Jared Davidson was sidelined for Saturday's game with a lower-body injury. The forward missed a couple of shifts during Friday's game in the second period, but returned and finished the contest. Davidson is on a four-game point streak, collecting three goals and one assist during the stretch.
Up Next
The Rocket begin a five-game road trip on Friday with the first stop being in Belleville for a weekend doubleheader against the Senators at the CAA Arena.
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