Before facing the Bridgeport Islanders, Florian Xhekaj had collected five points in 28 professional games. It took one game for the young Laval Rocket forward to double this total.
Xhekaj had five points, including three goals, and he was the big star of a 6-2 victory for the Laval team Sunday afternoon at Total Mortage Arena.
Xhekaj and his teammates did the vast majority of their damage in the third period, after an unconvincing second period that allowed the Islanders to score their two goals and give themselves a 2-1 lead.
Xhekaj first scored his fourth goal of the season at 3:10. He was then directly at the heart of a three-goal backfire in 2:07 against goaltender Henrik Tikkanen.
The explosion began with William Trudeau’s second goal of the season, following a pass from Xhekaj, at 8:34.
Xhekaj added his second of the afternoon at 10:06, during a power play, when a shot from Jared Davidson was first deflected by Laurent Dauphin in the slot, before hitting Xhekaj in the process .
Just 35 seconds later, Xhekaj completed his hat trick when he pushed Luke Tuch’s rebound past Tikkanen.
Davidson, with his 12th of the season, scored the final goal of the game on another power play with just under five minutes remaining in regulation.
Xhekaj began his afternoon success by obtaining an assist on Dauphin’s eighth goal in the first period.
To illustrate the Rocket’s supremacy in the third period, you only have to look at the number of shots on goal. After 40 minutes, the two clubs were tied 17-17; at the end of the match, the Rocket had obtained 33 against… 18 for the Islanders.
The Islanders’ only shot in the third period against Luke Cavallin came from William Dufour with 2:59 left in regulation. A harmless shot, from the right point, which Cavallin easily grabbed with the mitt.
Dufour also scored one of the Islanders’ two goals against Cavallin, who came in relief of Connor Hughes on Saturday evening in Hartford. The other was credited to Fredrik Karlström.
Without the services of Joshua Jacobs, injured during Saturday’s game in Hartford, head coach Pascal Vincent called on seven defensemen, including Noel Hoefenmayer, recently acquired from the Bakersfield Condors, a club affiliated with the Edmonton Oilers.
In doing so, Vincent counted on 11 attackers instead of 12, Riley Kidney having been left out.
Also, Joshua Roy started the game to the left of Owen Beck and Davidson.
The Rocket returned to Laval after the match and will play their next six games there, between December 20 and January 4, starting with the visit of the Belleville Senators.
A lively and precise shot
The first period didn’t offer anything too impactful, except for the Rocket’s third shot.
At the right point, defender Adam Engström kept the puck in the Islanders zone and backhanded it behind Tikkanen’s net.
Xhekaj recovered it and made a nice pass to Dauphin, posted in the slot.
Dauphin beat Tikkanen, a giant six-foot-eight goaltender, with a shot that first hit the left vertical post before veering into the net.
For Dauphin, it was his fifth goal and 13th point — a record for the Rocket — on rival rinks.
It was by far the highlight of a rather bland first period which the Rocket ended by getting just one shot during the last nine minutes of the period.
The Islanders were most active in the first half of the second period and their energy contributed to the first minor penalty of the game, to Hoefenmayer for holding at 9:18.
About 90 seconds later, Dufour, a hockey player from Quebec, took a shot from the top of the slot which slipped to the right of Cavallin, who possibly did not see the puck due to the presence of Gustav Lindström in front of him.
Another minor penalty, this one unfortunate to Rafaël Harvey-Pinard for delaying the game about four minutes later, led to the Islanders’ second goal.
This time, a wrist shot from the blue line by Calle Odelius hit Karlström, posted in front of Cavallin, and found the back of the net.
The Islanders were in position to hope to end their seven-game losing streak, but Xhekaj had not said his last word. Far from it.
