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The Eastern Conference Final was going to be a challenge for Laval, going up against a much older group in Charlotte. But few saw things playing out the way they did with the Rocket losing handily in the first three games of the series before a heart-breaking late goal in the fourth game ended the series in a sweep.
The Series That Was
May 28: Charlotte 5, Laval 1 – In terms of their overall play in the game, Laval wasn’t half-bad in this one. However, they just couldn’t escape the first two minutes of each period. Charlotte scored within the opening 120 seconds of each frame, giving them a lead the Rocket couldn’t come back from with Kaapo Kahkonen standing tall at the other end.
May 29: Charlotte 5, Laval 2 – This time, Laval survived the opening minutes of each period but it was the second period that did them in with the Checkers scoring three times to turn a one-goal lead into four. A pair of blueliners scored for the Rocket (Noel Hoefenmayer and David Reinbacher) in the third but at that point, the outcome was already secured for Charlotte.
June 1: Charlotte 5, Laval 1 – Once again, the second period was a killer with Charlotte scoring three times to chase Cayden Primeau and give them a four-goal lead. Jared Davidson got one back a few minutes later but the Checkers got another goal in the frame to kill any chance of a comeback, making the third period another one of both sides just killing the clock.
June 3: Charlotte 3, Laval 2 – Full credit to Laval in this one, they saved their best for last. They actually took a 2-0 lead early on with goals from Joshua Roy and Owen Beck but Charlotte had the game tied before the midway mark of the second, including a shorthanded goal on a five-minute Rocket power play. It looked like the game might be heading for overtime but as Fowler went to play a puck, Zack Hayes put it right on Jesse Puljujarvi’s stick, allowing to bury an effective empty-netter with just two minutes left to complete the sweep.
StatPack
Skaters:
| # | Player | GP | G | A | +/- | SOG | PIMS |
| 2 | Noel Hoefenmayer | 4 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 4 | 10 |
| 5 | Gustav Lindstrom | 4 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 7 | 0 |
| 10 | Joshua Roy | 4 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 11 | 4 |
| 11 | Rafael Harvey-Pinard | 4 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 8 | 10 |
| 12 | Alex Barre-Boulet | 4 | 0 | 1 | -6 | 8 | 10 |
| 15 | Sean Farrell | 4 | 0 | 2 | -4 | 4 | 4 |
| 17 | Alex Tuch | 2 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 0 |
| 24 | Logan Mailloux | 4 | 0 | 0 | -6 | 4 | 2 |
| 27 | Laurent Dauphin | 2 | 0 | 0 | -5 | 1 | 2 |
| 37 | Brandon Gignac | 4 | 0 | 1 | -5 | 4 | 0 |
| 42 | Lucas Condotta | 4 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 5 | 16 |
| 48 | Filip Mesar | 1 | 0 | 0 | E | 1 | 0 |
| 49 | Jared Davidson | 4 | 1 | 0 | -5 | 8 | 4 |
| 56 | Adam Engstrom | 4 | 0 | 1 | -4 | 6 | 6 |
| 62 | Owen Beck | 4 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 6 | 0 |
| 63 | Florian Xhekaj | 4 | 0 | 0 | -5 | 5 | 26 |
| 64 | David Reinbacher | 4 | 1 | 1 | -6 | 8 | 10 |
| 65 | Zack Hayes | 4 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 3 | 12 |
| 81 | Xavier Simoneau | 3 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 4 | 42 |
| 91 | Oliver Kapanen | 4 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 5 | 2 |
Goalies:
| # | Player | Record | GAA | SV% | SO |
| 1 | Jacob Fowler | 0-1-0 | 2.49 | .902 | 0 |
| 30 | Cayden Primeau | 0-3-0 | 6.03 | .774 | 0 |
Team Leaders:
Goals: Laurent Dauphin (5)
Assists: Alex Barre-Boulet (8)
Points: Alex Barre-Boulet (11)
+/-: Lindstrom/Trudeau (+4)
PIMS: Florian Xhekaj (59)
Shots: Joshua Roy (37)
News and Notes
– With Tyler Wotherspoon (who might have been back had Laval moved on) and William Trudeau (not remotely close to coming back) out, Vincent Sevigny was recalled from Trois-Rivieres to give Laval an extra blueliner on the roster. He didn’t play and was sent back to the Lions where he played a big role in them winning the Kelly Cup this weekend.
– There were more injuries for the Rocket. Laurent Dauphin was unable to play in the final two games of the series while Xavier Simoneau missed the last game. Logan Mailloux wasn’t far from needing to be scratched for the final game due to an injury while Gustav Lindstrom suffered an injury in the final game.
– Speaking of Lindstrom, it’s safe to say he won’t be back next season after he signed a five-year contract with SHL Djurgardens. A pending RFA, he’ll likely not be tendered a qualifying offer by Montreal.
– Laval currently has three of the top five penalty minute leaders in the playoffs. (Those PIM totals in the chart above aren’t typos; Simoneau really did have 42 penalty minutes in the series.)
Last Game’s Lines:
Roy – Kapanen – Barre-Boulet
Farrell – Gignac – Beck
Harvey-Pinard – Condotta – Davidson
Tuch – Xhekaj – Mesar
Engstrom – Reinbacher
Hayes– Mailloux
Hoefenmayer – Reinbacher
Free Agent Overview
Here’s a rundown of Laval’s free agent situation:
NHL RFA: F Sean Farrell, F Rafael Harvey-Pinard, D Noel Hoefenmayer, D Gustav Lindstrom (already signed in Sweden), G Cayden Primeau, F Xavier Simoneau, D William Trudeau
NHL UFA: F Alex Barre-Boulet, F Brandon Gignac, G Connor Hughes (already signed in Switzerland)
AHL UFA: F Alex Beaucage, G Luke Cavallin, D Zack Hayes, D Josh Jacobs, D Chris Jandric, G Hunter Jones, F Jakov Novak, D Vincent Sevigny, D Tyler Wotherspoon
Laval already has several players signed to AHL contracts for next season as well. Those are as follows:
F Vincent Arseneau, F Laurent Dauphin, F Will Dineen, F Joseph Dunlap, F Yegor Goryunov, F Israel Mianscum
Final Thought
It’s fair to say that this series was a learning experience for Laval. There were times when they could keep up with Charlotte but when things went south, they went off the rails in a hurry. That’s not an entirely uncommon issue for younger playoff teams, especially against a veteran group like Charlotte. I don’t think anyone was expecting a lopsided sweep so that’s a sour taste to the end of what was a strong year and playoff performance before this round got underway.
But the good news is there shouldn’t be as much turnover as there often is in the minors when half the team can be switched in a matter of months. While that’s a big list of pending free agents, a lot of the youngsters that played regular roles will be back with the Rocket aside from a couple who could look to look to crack a full-time spot with Montreal. Lucas Condotta and Laurent Dauphin are a pair of returning veterans to stabilize things up front. That’s a solid foundation to build off of.
Does that mean Laval should push for another division title next season? It’s way too early to answer that one. A lot will be dictated by the key veterans signed, either to NHL deals or to AHL pacts in free agency. But they’re starting from a pretty good spot. Compared to the 2022 run that felt like a last hurrah for a lot of veterans with few prospects on the roster, things are still looking up in Laval despite how poorly their final round went.
