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Laval kicked off the road portion of their 2026-27 schedule last week with a pair of weekend games.  They were quite sharp in both, skating away with relatively easy victories to extend their early winning streak to three games.

The Week That Was

Oct. 10: Rocket 5, Thunderbirds 2 – Offence from the back end got the Rocket going with Reilly Walsh and Luke Mittelstadt scoring in the opening frame.  Brett Berard added a shorthanded goal in the second period that ultimately held as the game-winner while Filip Mesar’s first of the season early in the third was an important insurance marker to allow Laval to pick up their first road win.

Oct. 11: Rocket 5, Wolf Pack 2 – Laval trailed early after allowing a power play goal but they were able to get the lead by the end of the first, thanks to goals from Mittelstadt and Josh Nadeau’s first with Laval, a power play tally.  Sasha Pastujov added a power play marker of his own in the second, allowing the Rocket to carry a multi-goal lead the rest of the way.  Laurent Dauphim and Xavier Simoneau sealed the victory with goals in the third, sandwiching another Hartford goal on the man advantage.

StatPack

Skaters:

Goalies:

Team Leaders:

Goals: Sasha Pastujov (3)
Assists: Laurent Dauphin (7)
Points: Laurent Dauphin (8)
+/-: Laurent Dauphin (+5)
PIMS: Xavier Simoneau (16)
Shots: Sasha Pastujov (16)

News and Notes

– With Tyler Thorpe and Vincent Arseneau dealing with upper-body injuries, winger Israel Mianscum was recalled from ECHL Trois-Rivieres.

– Goaltender Jacob Fowler was recalled to the Habs following Samuel Montembeault’s injury.  Laval had been carrying three goalies on its roster already so they didn’t need to recall anyone from the Lions.

– Through the first two weeks of the season, Laurent Dauphin is tied for the league lead in points with eight while Luke Mittelstadt is second in scoring in points by a defenceman with seven.

Last Game’s Lines:

Pastujov – Dauphin – Belzile
Berard – Poulin – Beck
Simoneau – Bentley – Mesar
Davidson – McKown – Nadeau

Mittelstadt – Reinbacher
Hache – Walsh
Szuber – Samson

The Week Ahead

Friday at Belleville – Offence has been a challenge thus far for the Senators, who have just 10 goals through their first four games.  Newcomer Kasper Halttunen leads the way with four points in as many games; he was another part of the trade that saw William Eklund go to Ottawa.  Former Lightning backup goaltender Jonas Johansson is the starter in Belleville this season, meaning Laval could be facing an NHL netminder in this one.

Saturday at Utica – The Comets enter the week as the only remaining unbeaten team in the Eastern Conference.  Lenni Hameenaho is their top scorer out of the gate while former Hab veteran Colin White is also on the roster, though looking for his first point of the campaign.  Utica also has an NHL veteran between the pipes in David Rittich, after New Jersey passed him through waivers in training camp.

Final Thought

Considering this is a make-or-break year for Jared Davidson, I don’t think he or the organization is happy with how things have started.  He has already been a healthy scratch once and is seeing a lot of bottom-six action early on.  This is a player who, at this point last year, was knocking down the door to get his first NHL recall, one he did and held his own in.  But since then, he hasn’t been the same player and the offseason hasn’t changed things.

We saw this past summer a bit of an overhaul from a prospect perspective, moving some whose stock had slipped to another organization for a similar type of player.  Things can obviously still change but if Davidson remains on his current trajectory, he’s going to be a viable candidate to be moved in one of those trades himself before too long.