Rocket Weekly: A Solid Start to December
After a solid showing in November, Laval kicked off the month of December on a strong note as well, picking up a pair of victories in three games to continue to sit atop the North Division.
The Week That Was
Dec. 2: Laval 4, Providence 1 – The addition of Samuel Blais to the lineup allowed Laval to revamp its checking line. That trio has now become one capable of scoring and they were a big difference-maker in this one, helping set up Laval’s first and fourth goals of the game while Xavier Simoneau added a shorthanded tally early in the third for good measure. The Bruins have been one of the top teams in the league so far and the Rocket have now beaten them twice.
Dec. 5: Laval 5, Belleville 2 – This time, the return of a pair of prospects from the Habs made a big difference with Florian Xhekaj scoring twice and Adam Engstrom setting both of those up. However, they blew a two-goal lead in the second period, sending the game to the third tied. It was Alex Belzile who continued his recent hot stretch by scoring the winner a little before the midway mark of the frame.
Dec. 6: Belleville 4, Laval 3 – Kaapo Kahkonen got his first start of the week in this one and it did not go well. He allowed three goals on seven shots in just 11:07 of ice time, ending his night early. Jacob Fowler was sharp from there and Laval even tied the game in the second with a three-spot of their own. However, they weren’t rewarded for their efforts as Garrett Pilon scored a power play goal with less than three minutes left in the third to give the Senators a split.
StatPack
Skaters:
| # | Player | GP | G | A | +/- | SOG | PIMS |
| 2 | Marc Del Gaizo | 3 | 1 | 1 | +2 | 6 | 2 |
| 4 | Tobie Bisson | 3 | 0 | 0 | +3 | 5 | 0 |
| 5 | Nate Clurman | 2 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | Tyler Thorpe | 2 | 0 | 0 | E | 1 | 2 |
| 10 | Joshua Roy | 3 | 2 | 1 | E | 9 | 0 |
| 15 | Sean Farrell | 3 | 1 | 0 | +3 | 4 | 0 |
| 17 | Alex Tuch | 3 | 0 | 0 | E | 2 | 2 |
| 19 | Samuel Blais | 3 | 0 | 3 | +3 | 3 | 2 |
| 22 | Alex Belzile | 3 | 4 | 1 | +4 | 11 | 2 |
| 26 | Will Dineen | 3 | 0 | 0 | E | 1 | 2 |
| 27 | Laurent Dauphin | 3 | 0 | 5 | +4 | 3 | 2 |
| 42 | Lucas Condotta | 2 | 1 | 1 | +2 | 2 | 2 |
| 44 | Josiah Didier | 2 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 3 | 0 |
| 48 | Filip Mesar | 3 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 5 | 0 |
| 56 | Adam Engstrom | 2 | 0 | 2 | E | 3 | 0 |
| 62 | Owen Beck | 3 | 0 | 1 | E | 7 | 2 |
| 63 | Florian Xhekaj | 2 | 2 | 1 | +2 | 8 | 2 |
| 64 | David Reinbacher | 3 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 4 | 4 |
| 81 | Xavier Simoneau | 3 | 1 | 2 | +2 | 2 | 2 |
| 84 | William Trudeau | 3 | 0 | 2 | +5 | 7 | 4 |
Goalies:
| # | Player | Record | GAA | SV% | SO |
| 1 | Jacob Fowler | 2-1-0 | 1.43 | .939 | 0 |
| 34 | Kaapo Kahkonen | 0-0-0 | 16.19 | .571 | 0 |
Team Leaders:
Goals: Alex Belzile (11)
Assists: Laurent Dauphin (19)
Points: Laurent Dauphin (28)
+/-: Laurent Dauphin (+21)
PIMS: Florian Xhekaj (46)
Shots: Alex Belzile (62)
News and Notes
– With Florian Xhekaj and Adam Engstrom being sent down by the Habs, Laval sent winger Joe Dunlap and defenceman Ryan O’Rourke back to ECHL Trois-Rivieres.
– Lucas Condotta missed Saturday’s game but not due to injury or illness but rather that he was on baby watch. He should be good to return for their next game on Wednesday.
– Laurent Dauphin finished the weekend as the AHL’s top scorer in assists (19) and points (28).
Last Game’s Lines:
Farrell – Dauphin – Belzile
Blais – Xhekaj – Roy
Simoneau – Beck – Mesar
Tuch – Dineen – Thorpe
Trudeau – Engstrom
Paquette-Bisson – Reinbacher
Del Gaizo – Clurman
The Week Ahead
Wednesday/Friday vs Toronto – This isn’t a bad time to be catching the Marlies as with the Maple Leafs missing both their goalies, the Marlies are without their top two netminders. Meanwhile, they’ve been pretty quiet offensively despite a veteran-laden attack headlined by Travis Boyd, Benoit-Olivier Groulx, and former Hab Logan Shaw. Michael Pezzetta isn’t producing much either as he has been limited to just three assists in 14 games.
Saturday vs Bridgeport – Last season, the Islanders were last in the league by a country mile. This year, they’re still near the bottom but are a lot more respectable despite Chris Terry, typically one of the better scorers in the minors, struggling so far. Joey Larson, a college free agent signing back in the spring, is one of their top scorers while veterans Matthew Maggio and Matthew Highmore (a former Montreal rookie camp invite) are also pacing their attack.
Final Thought
While there’s a need to state a qualifier that it’s only his second season in the pros, I’m starting to get a little concerned about Owen Beck. Yes, there’s reason to think that his shooting percentage is bound to go up (7.0% for someone with as good of a shot as he has isn’t likely to be maintained) but he has been a lot quieter than expected this year. After spending a lot of his rookie year on the third line, there was reason to believe that he’d be able to make a full-time jump into the top six. That, coupled with some strong defensive play, would have him in line for an early recall and after that, who knows?
The first part of that came true. He did well early on, earning a recall in mid-October when the injuries started. However, after two quiet games with Montreal, Beck was sent back down and things haven’t gone as well since then with just two goals and seven assists in 19 games. Meanwhile, he has bounced between the second and third lines in terms of usage, not the consistent improvement everyone was hoping to see.
This isn’t to say he’s going in the wrong direction. It just feels like Beck’s development has stalled a little bit. For someone perceived as a possible bottom-six piece of the future with the Canadiens or potentially one of their better trade chips, seeing some stagnation is a little concerning. There’s still lots of time to turn things around – he’s getting another chance now with Tuesday’s recall – but with the roster deeper than it has been lately, he’ll have to do so from a lower spot on the depth chart than he or the organization was hoping he’d be in.