When players fall in battle, others must rise to the occasion. Jared Davidson didn’t need to be told twice.
Davidson scored a hat trick and the Laval Rocket defeated the Hartford Wolf Pack 5-2 on Friday night at the XL Center.
Injured before the game due to illness, Lias Andersson left a gaping hole in the Laval team, including on the power play. Head coach Jean-François Houle had to modify his lines and he was lucky.
Davidson’s first three-goal night in the American Hockey League notably allowed him to end a six-game pointless streak.
“Sometimes the puck starts to go into the net and that’s what happened tonight,” he analyzed. It’s tough to lose a guy like Andy, but I think everyone took their game up a notch. I want to put a few more pucks on net and I want to put myself in situations where I can use my shot. »
If Davidson handled some of the offense, Jakub Dobes did the work at the back. The Czech goalie blocked 34 pucks to help the Rocket (21-19-6) sign a second consecutive victory.
Mitchell Stephens collected a goal and an assist for the Montreal Canadiens’ farm club, while Tobie Bisson added a goal. Riley Kidney finished the game with two assists.
“We played a good road game. We remained patient, we scored on our chances and we played very well defensively, observed Houle. The trio of Stephens, Davidson and [Nathan] Légaré did a good job and the Wolf Pack defenders had difficulty against them. Dobes made some big saves and the defenders cleared the front of the net. »
Anton Blidh and Brett Berard responded for the Wolf Pack (24-15-5), who suffered a second defeat in a row. Louis Domingue would surely have liked to see some of the visitors’ shots again and he allowed four goals on 19 shots.
The Rocket currently finds itself in a fierce fight in the North section. Five teams are separated by only a few points in the standings.
He will return to action on Saturday against the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins, in the second game of a series of three in three days this weekend.
“Every time you have to play a three-for-three, it’s difficult. You want to start off on the right foot and build on that momentum. I give the guys credit for this big road win,” Stephens said.
Defender Mattias Norlinder injured his upper body in the first period and did not return to the game. The Rocket had to make do with five backs, but they limited the damage.
“When we play with five, the guys become more mature. We have guys who have experience too. We are able to play together and that gives others a chance,” explained Bisson.
Slowly but surely
The clash did not start in the best way for the Rocket, as he conceded a goal in the first minute of play.
The puck ended up on the tip of Matthew Robertson’s stick, who sent it to the net. Dobes could not maintain it and Blidh jumped on the return to open the score.
The people of Laval got back on track and knocked on the door. Alex-Olivier Voyer and Stephens tried in quick succession to tie the game, but Domingue had a narrow escape when the disc passed near his semi-circle from behind the net.
Stephens recovered on the power play late in the first period. Placed at the mouth of the net, the American League veteran surprised the opposing goalkeeper between the pads.
The Wolf Pack had a golden opportunity to regain the lead when a nasty turnover by Justin Barron gave them a power play in the second period.
Installed on the right side, Brennan Othmann fired a cannonball on reception, but Dobes moved to his left to deprive him of a goal.
The Rocket somehow rewarded his goalie by hitting the target twice in 3:40 before retreating to the locker room. Davidson was forgotten at the enemy blue line and he deceived Domingue’s vigilance on the near side. Then, Kidney spotted Bisson alone on the left side and the defender hit the target for his sixth goal of the campaign.
Dobes was busy in the third period, but his teammates contained the enemy attacks well. Davidson even managed to increase the lead thanks to a violent wrist shot during a numerical superiority.
The Wolf Pack did not give up and reduced the gap through Berard, but they could not get any closer.