Rocket @ Islanders Recap & Highlights: Another frustrating night for Laval

An up and down opening month for the Laval Rocket continued on Friday night with a 2-1 loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. While the Rocket finished on a very strong note, its slow start in the first period was too much for J.-F. Houle’s squad.

However, the team had little time to reflect on the loss when it came to a game against the Islanders in Bridgeport on Saturday night. There were three changes for Laval from the previous game as fresh legs were needed in the back-to-back situation. Joël Teasdale, Peter Abbandonato and Pierrick Dubé stood in for Xavier Simoneau, Nate Schnarr and Brandon Gignac. At the net, it was Kevin Poulin who got the nod after Cayden Primeau played in Pennsylvania on Friday.

The new look of the fourth line of Rocket created the first real pressure of the game, with Abbandonato’s speed creating room for a chance at net. The momentum was short-lived, however, as William Dufour used his size to put Mattias Norlinder in a holding penalty. Laval’s penalty killers were up to the task of keeping the islanders off the board, but the game didn’t stay five-a-side for long.

Joël Teasdale and Parker Wotherspoon came together around the net and put the game four on four for two minutes. William Trudeau got a rude awakening as more space became available on the ice as Chris Terry dangled around him on the blue line and scored Simon Holmstrom with a two-for-one to open the scoring.

After the Islanders’ goal, the Rocket pre-check showed signs of life, causing Bridgeport to make mistakes with the puck. Mitchell Stephens rushed in and threw a check to trick a defender into blind throwing a pass off the wall. That puck landed on Anthony Richard’s racquet, who scored his first goal of the season to close the game.

The tie only lasted about four minutes as another onslaught from the odd men put the islanders back in front. Two quick passes allowed Hudson Fasching to find open ice to bury his second goal of the year with just under two minutes to go. That goal made all the difference when the half-time horn sounded after 20 minutes.

Laval had a golden opportunity very early in the second half when Terry was called out for a stumble after 90 seconds. The odds for the man advantage were slim and those that got the Rocket went just over the bar as the Islanders blocked the attack.

Bridgeport took control of the game after the penalty shootout, repeatedly wiping out the Rocket defense and forcing Poulin to make a series of tough saves nearby. It appeared the islanders had increased their lead in a scramble for the net, but officials disagreed, saying it never crossed the line. Before play could resume, the Rocket were back on the power play when Ruslan Iskhakov went into the box to bat.

The power play again failed to find the back of the net, and not long after the game returned to five-a-side, the Rocket were on their way to a penalty shootout of their own. While the Rocket managed to kill the penalty, Terry came in seconds later and wired a puck into the top corner of the net where Poulin had no chance to stop it to make it a two-goal game.

It looked like Rocket would take the lead when Jesse Ylönen got a centering pass, but a desperate save from Jakub Skarek prevented the Finn from scoring a surefire goal. It wasn’t all bad, however, as Parker Wotherspoon was called up to rough out after the deadline for Laval to start the final 20 with one man.

The early power play paid off for Rocket as they immediately pushed the Islanders back and scored a second goal of the night with 30 seconds remaining. Stephens fired a powerful shot that rebounded straight at Rafaël Harvey-Pinard up front and he made no mistake as he buried his second goal of the year.

Momentum clearly tipped in Rocket’s favour, but lax defensive cover came back to hurt them. A shot was stopped by traffic by Poulin, but the ricochet landed on the ice, and instead of clearing it, the missile instead attempted to clear the bulk of the bodies. Iskhakov jumped on the loose puck and fired it through a diving Poulin to restore the two-goal lead.

Unfortunately, there was no last-minute comeback in sight for the Rocket in Bridgeport. With less than four minutes left, the Rocket pulled Poulin to the additional attacker, but the Islanders’ pressure forced the puck out of the zone and Simon Holmstrom buried the puck in the empty net to seal the game.

Final score: Islanders 5, Laval 2

It’s another frustrating loss for the Rocket, falling to 1-3-1 in the season. Despite the record, the team never played excessively badly in a single game. They’re putting pucks in the right places, but so far haven’t gotten the bounces they expected. It’s still early and there are new players integrating into the team, so it’s far too early to hit any panic buttons.

The Rocket plays the Belleville Senators at Place Bell next Wednesday and is hoping for their second win of the season.