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With Laval having a pair of games against a team behind them in the standings, they were about as close to must-win contests as a game in early January could be. It took a shootout both times but the Rocket were able to come away with the wins.
The Week That Was
January 5: Laval 4, Utica 3 (SO) – This game didn’t start well for Laval who failed to score on two early power plays and then allowed two goals soon after. But Jared Davidson – back in the lineup due to an injury – got one back late in the first while Arber Xhekaj tied it early in the second. After the Comets retook the lead in the third, Philippe Maillet tied it up with six minutes to go before scoring the winner in the shootout.
January 7: Laval 4, Utica 3 (SO) – Things started better for the Rocket in this one when Brandon Gignac scored just two minutes in while Logan Mailloux regained the lead with a goal in the opening minute of the second. But again, it took a goal in the third period to tie it up back – this time from Davidson. Meanwhile, in the shootout, Gignac potted the winner past Akira Schmid (who played both games while on assignment from New Jersey) to get the extra point.
StatPack
Skaters:
| # | Player | GP | G | A | +/- | SOG | PIMS |
| 4 | Tobie Bisson | 2 | 0 | 0 | E | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | Joshua Roy | 2 | 0 | 1 | +2 | 3 | 2 |
| 14 | Jan Mysak | 2 | 0 | 0 | E | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Sean Farrell | 2 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | Gabriel Bourque | 2 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 3 | 0 |
| 21 | Riley Kidney | 1 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | Nolan Yaremko | 1 | 0 | 0 | E | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Logan Mailloux | 2 | 1 | 2 | +4 | 5 | 4 |
| 25 | Brady Keeper | 2 | 0 | 0 | E | 1 | 2 |
| 28 | Lias Andersson | 2 | 0 | 1 | E | 5 | 0 |
| 29 | Mattias Norlinder | 2 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 4 | 2 |
| 37 | Brandon Gignac | 2 | 1 | 1 | +2 | 8 | 0 |
| 42 | Lucas Condotta | 2 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 2 |
| 44 | Olivier Galipeau | 2 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 5 | 2 |
| 49 | Jared Davidson | 2 | 2 | 0 | +1 | 5 | 0 |
| 61 | Philippe Maillet | 2 | 2 | 1 | +2 | 5 | 0 |
| 68 | Riley McKay | 2 | 0 | 0 | E | 1 | 7 |
| 72 | Arber Xhekaj | 2 | 1 | 1 | +3 | 6 | 6 |
| 81 | Xavier Simoneau | 2 | 0 | 1 | +2 | 2 | 2 |
| 84 | William Trudeau | 2 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 7 |
Goalies:
| # | Player | Record | GAA | SV% | SO |
| 71 | Jakub Dobes | 1-0-0 | 2.78 | .903 | 0 |
| 73 | Kasimir Kaskisuo | 1-0-0 | 2.78 | .923 | 0 |
Shootout – Skaters:
| # | Player | G/ATT |
| 15 | Sean Farrell | 1/1 |
| 24 | Logan Mailloux | 0/1 |
| 37 | Brandon Gignac | 1/1 |
| 61 | Philippe Maillet | 2/2 |
Shootout – Goalies:
| # | Player | SVS/SF |
| 71 | Jakub Dobes | 2/2 |
| 73 | Kasimir Kaskisuo | 2/2 |
Team Leaders:
Goals: Brandon Gignac (11)
Assists: Brandon Gignac (19)
Points: Brandon Gignac (30)
+/-: Mitchell Stephens (+7)
PIMS: Riley McKay (80)
Shots: Joshua Roy (99)
News and Notes
– It was a rough week on the injury front. Nathan Legare missed both games with a lower-body injury. Meanwhile, Gabriel Bourque, Sean Farrell, and Brady Keeper were all injured in Sunday’s game. On top of that, Riley Kidney missed a game due to illness.
– Joshua Roy sits fourth in AHL rookie scoring with 27 points. The player in second place, Brandt Clarke, is now up in the NHL so within the next few weeks, Roy should be able to move up.
– Logan Mailloux has been paired with Arber Xhekaj for a few weeks now and the production has been there for both of them. Both of them have seven points in their last seven games.
Last Game’s Lines:
Andersson – Gignac – Farrell
Simoneau – Maillet – Roy
Davidson – Condotta – Bourque
Kidney – Mysak – McKay
Xhekaj – Mailloux
Trudeau – Paquette-Bisson
Norlinder – Keeper
The Week Ahead
Wednesday: vs Utica – Yes, them again. Nothing has really changed for the Comets from last week’s preview other than they’ve now lost two straight in a shootout to Laval. They haven’t recorded a win in their last eight games.
Friday/Saturday: vs Manitoba – Laval did quite well in the first two games against the Moose this season out West, out-scoring them 11-4 in a pair of victories. Manitoba has struggled for most of the season and is sitting at the bottom of the Central Division, meaning this is another opportunity for Laval to gain some ground. Brad Lambert and Nikita Chibrikov, a pair of rookies, are Manitoba’s leading scorers so far.
Final Thought
Laval’s play-by-play voice, Anthony Marcotte, recently reported that Nicolas Beaudin is looking to get more ice time, either with Laval or somewhere else with his agent being tasked to help make that happen. While I sympathize to an extent – he’s a good enough player to be a regular in the AHL – this was also foreseeable on his part, at least it should have been. With the Habs prioritizing development, he should have known that their prospects were going to get the bigger minutes and been aware of that when he signed his contract.
With Montreal having pretty good defensive depth at the moment and some capable options in Trois-Rivieres on AHL deals, a trade looks like the much more feasible option at this point. Forward depth is starting to get tested with the injuries for the Canadiens and Rocket so swapping Beaudin for a similar forward (more of a veteran who can play in the top six up front) would make sense from an organizational standpoint while giving Beaudin a fresh start to try to show he’s worthy of another contract in North America. This is the type of move where it’d be nice to see it happen sooner than later.
