With the Habs having a roster with multiple players on entry-level deals and a long-time stint in LTIR due to Carey Price’s contract, they’re getting used to having bonus overage penalties. Next year’s penalty will be their biggest yet.
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.
After three tough losses to start the Eastern Conference Final, Laval was playing to keep their playoff hopes alive on Tuesday. They had their best game of the series by far but a late goal from Jesse Puljujarvi gave Charlotte a 3-2 win and the series sweep.
June 1st at 5 PM ET is a time of some significance in the NHL as it results in teams losing the rights to some of their unsigned prospects. This was the case for the Habs who have officially relinquished the rights to goaltender Joe Vrbetic.
While the Habs went out in five games at the hands of Washington in the opening round of the playoffs, they were still able to show how far along the rebuild has come. At the same time, they also showed they have a long way to go to become contenders.
After a couple of days off, Laval was back in action on Wednesday to open their series against Charlotte. After starting their last two series strong, they did no such thing in this one, falling 5-1.
With the North Division title now secured, Laval will now take aim at the Eastern Conference title as they take on Florida’s affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. Here’s a look at the series ahead.
Laval needed to take two of three games at home against Rochester to move on to the Eastern Conference Final. One of those games was especially rough but they were sharp in the other two, allowing them to make the final four for the second time in the last four years.
Laval had a chance to move on to the Eastern Conference Final if they could beat Rochester on Friday night. Instead, they had a night to forget all around as the Americans tied the series with a 5-1 win.
After splitting the first section of the North Division Final in Rochester, Laval returned home on Wednesday to kick off the home segment. It took a three-goal third-period breakout but the Rocket took care of business with a 4-1 victory.