After a hard-fought series against Syracuse, Laval came out at their best against Rochester and they were able to pick up the sweep as they advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals to take on Springfield.
The preliminary round at the 2022 IIHF World Hockey Championship has come to an end so it’s a good time to assess how each of the representatives from the Habs has fared so far.
After a big victory on Sunday, Laval looked to make it two wins in as many nights in the second game of the North Division Finals against Rochester. On the back of another strong goaltending performance, they did exactly that, pulling out a 3-1 victory.
Laval kicked off the North Division Final on Sunday looking to get an early edge on Rochester. They got an offensive explosion with five goals from the bottom end of their forward group as they picked up a big 6-1 victory.
Laval’s first-ever playoff series turned out to be quite a memorable one as after they failed to win it on home ice, they returned to Syracuse and needed a late-minute comeback to keep their chances alive before winning in overtime to move on to face Rochester in the next round.
Laval went into Saturday’s matinee matchup against Syracuse with a chance to win the best-of-five series. However, some missed opportunities early proved costly as the Crunch forced a deciding game with a 3-0 victory.
After a split to start the series, Laval was looking to get within a game of clinching their first-round matchup as they hosted Syracuse on Thursday. They had a solid defensive showing throughout the game and potted a pair of power play goals which were the difference in a 4-1 win.
The month of April is typically one where prospects begin their playoffs but that wasn’t the case for many this season and several prospects from the Canadiens had strong finishes to their seasons, earning them a place in our three stars.
A little more than a month ago, Canadiens prospect Ty Smilanic entered the NCAA’s transfer portal. It appears he has found his new school as multiple reports have him joining Wisconsin for next season.
Laval needed a couple of victories in the final week of the regular season to avoid having to play in the play-in round to battle for a playoff spot. Mission accomplished on that front as they were able to secure two wins to earn the third seed in the North Division for their first-ever playoff appearance.