(Laval) Who has never had to deal with updates on their computer? They usually only take a few minutes to be completed, but in the case of the Laval Rocket, it took a few days to put their machine back in order.
Posted at 12:03 p.m.
Simon Servant
The Canadian Press
Breaks are often welcome in the world of hockey to allow for a boost of energy, but the Christmas break did not seem to have the desired effect for the Montreal Canadiens’ farm club.
The team was building momentum with three straight wins, but hit a wall when it returned to the ice on December 27. The Laval residents were victims of the hard work of the Syracuse Crunch and they lost twice in a row at Place Bell before starting another break, for New Year’s Day.
Surprisingly, after the second defeat, head coach Pascal Vincent spoke of fatigue and that his players needed a little reset to find their comfort on the ice.
Obviously, he wasn’t wrong. Convincingly, on Saturday, the Rocket completed a two-game sweep in 24 hours of the Abbotsford Canucks with a 6-2 victory. What especially caught the attention was the contribution of all the players on the ice and the synergy between them.
“We gave a better effort tonight (Saturday). It was a playoff atmosphere and we wanted to have a good game, said forward Laurent Dauphin, who finished the weekend with four points. I think the key is to have been on the same page. We took pucks to the net and our special teams were excellent. »
The special teams especially set the tone during the second confrontation. The Laval team lost a two-man penalty kill of 1:33 in the first skates of the game before Sean Farrell launched hostilities on offense with a power play goal.
Vincent then only had to deploy his four trios and his three pairs of defenders. The forecheck caused problems for the Canucks and the discipline on defense allowed them to orchestrate several dangerous transitions on offense.
Through the ups and downs of recent weeks, the head coach has always kept the development of his young players in mind.
Against the Crunch, defenseman Logan Mailloux had difficulties on the ice and showed indiscipline. Against the Canucks, the Habs’ 2021 first-round pick was much more effective, even playing shorthanded at times.
After missing two months of activities due to an injury, attacker Filip Mesar also found his rhythm alongside Dauphin and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard this weekend. This trio had several battles in the enemy zone and the Slovak took advantage of the intensity of the two veterans to score a first goal since October 11.
“I still have a lot to learn from them and they are pushing me hard. They help me when I make a mistake and I try to improve because of that, expressed Mesar. These guys have a lot of experience. I want to learn every day, stay focused and work hard. »
Striker Owen Beck has been promoted. Against the Canucks, he rotated the first line with Joshua Roy and Alex Barré-Boulet. Even though the three players sometimes had difficulty finding themselves on the ice, Vincent liked Beck’s game.
“I liked the way Owen approached the game and how he handled it,” said the head coach. I give him quality minutes on the power play and he plays shorthanded and at even strength. Also, he is very good at faceoffs.”
As the mid-season approaches, Vincent also knows that he will have to rely on his veterans to guide his young team through more difficult times and long trips abroad.
The returns of Dauphin and defender Gustav Lindström this season notably helped propel the Rocket (20-10-2) to second place in the North section after 32 games.
Lindström is rarely part of the games of the week, but on Saturday, he collected a goal and an assist in addition to orchestrating another goal for his team thanks to a powerful check. He played four games with the Rocket last year before being claimed by the Anaheim Ducks on waivers.
“Gustav is a good veteran and a quiet leader. He does the right things and he doesn’t cause any problems. We had rotations on defense, but he trained the same way and his attitude didn’t change. That’s contagious,” insisted Vincent.
In addition to his three assists on Saturday, Dauphin scored the winning goal in overtime on Friday. In his second stint with the Bleu-blanc-rouge farm club, he was used excessively by his head coach.
“I see it a bit like a Swiss army knife. He has all the tools in his trunk. What I especially see from him is when I put him on a line, he makes his other two teammates better. It’s great quality,” said Vincent.
Now that all the elements seem to be back in place, it will only remain to see if the Laval residents can maintain the pace next week against the Cleveland Monsters, the leaders of the North section.
