(Laval) The Laval Rocket and the Toronto Marlies know each other very well, and they also know the situation in which they find themselves, at the dawn of an important weekend for both teams.
It seems a little premature to talk about participation in the American Hockey League playoffs, but for the people of Laval, the process has been underway for a while now.
The Rocket proved it once again on Wednesday evening by signing a courageous victory at the expense of the Hershey Bears, the best team in the AHL. This also allowed him to solidify his hold on the sixth level of the Northern section and not move too far from the top.
Following this triumph, Jean-François Houle’s men are only three points behind the Rochester Americans, in third place, and only eight behind the Syracuse Crunch, who are second. Needless to say, things can move very quickly.
“There’s really not much difference. In my previous two seasons here it was close, but in a different way. You always had the first two teams who were further away and then they were fighting behind. Right now it’s tight for all the teams. Our section will be fun to watch until the end of the year,” Houle said Thursday after an optional training at Place Bell.
Before thinking about the top places in the rankings, the Montreal Canadiens’ farm club must look straight ahead. The Marlies, who hold a one-point lead ahead of the Rocket, will come to Place Bell for a series of two games in as many days with the firm intention of keeping their section rival at bay.
Two weeks ago, the Marlies defeated the Rocket 6-1, but the Laval squad took their revenge the next day by easily winning 7-1. If one of the two teams were to sweep this weekend’s honors this time, it would be a serious boost in the standings.
“We know very well that every game, every presence and every period is important. There’s not a lot of wiggle room. We will have to stay focused because it will be good matches against Toronto. It’s the same for them though. The teams in our section are stacked on top of each other. Everyone looks at the rankings and is in the same position,” observed Houle.
The head coach doesn’t see a better way for his young players to develop and gain experience. An experience which will perhaps make the difference during the last matches of the campaign.
“It’s good for the kids to be playing important hockey at this time of year. The energy level goes up a notch and that’s what we want to see. We want to see our young people be able to perform under pressure and when it counts,” underlined Houle.
The roles change
The Rocket has not often had the luxury of playing with a full roster since the start of the season.
Numerous injuries, both in Laval and in Montreal, created a game of musical chairs which did not always make the task easy for Houle. The Habs recalled defenseman Jayden Struble in November, and he hasn’t played with the Rocket since. Forwards Emil Heineman, Joshua Roy and Brandon Gignac also played a few games with the Bleu-blanc-rouge, and Roy is still in the NHL today.
The Laval team still managed to deliver great performances and stay in the race for the series.
“If you take away the top two scorers on any team, it’s not going to be easy. We would like to see a little more consistency, but under the circumstances, we are playing good hockey. We are playing better defensively than at the start of the year and that allows us to stay in matches. I find that the players give everything they have,” said Houle.
Young forwards Jared Davidson and Jan Mysak have given the Rocket a lot in recent weeks, which has taken some pressure off the shoulders of the team’s best players.
Davidson has scored four goals in his last four games while Mysak has scored five times in the last nine games.
“When you have recalls and injuries, these players have to give,” insisted Houle. Davidson and Mysak are getting more ice time and they are playing with confidence. It’s good to see young people taking their chances when they are asked to take their game up a notch. »
The head coach said Thursday that Mysak, forward Sean Farrell and defenseman Mattias Norlinder were all close to returning to play. They skated with a few teammates during optional practice. Mysak and Norlinder were injured last weekend while Farrell has been sidelined since the start of January.
The Rocket could also have reinforcement against the Marlies. Gignac was placed on waivers by the Canadiens on Thursday after general manager Kent Hughes claimed Pittsburgh Penguins forward Colin White.