The AHL's Eastern Conference Finals between the Laval Rocket and Charlotte Checkers gets underway tonight at Place Bell in Laval.
Laval won the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy as the AHL's top team, leading the league with 101 points. They beat the Cleveland Monsters 3-1 in the North Division Semifinals and the Rochester Americans in five games in the North Division Finals.
The Rocket have been led by their top line of Alex Barre-Boulet, Laurent Dauphin, and Sean Farrell who have combined for 11 goals and 27 points in nine playoff games.
Joshua Roy had a fantastic series against Rochester, posting three goals and seven points in five games.
Laval have an interesting situation going on in net. Rookie goaltender Jacob Fowler led the team in the series win over Cleveland before having some difficulties against Rochester, he was pulled in game four in favor of Cayden Primeau who then shutout the Americans in game five.
Fowler was first off the ice today and is expected to start game one against Charlotte.
After an injury to top pairing defenseman Tyler Wotherspoon in game three mid-season acquisition Noel Hoefenmayer stepped in admirably to fill the hole.
First round picks Logan Mailloux and David Reinbacher will need to maintain their strong play against Charlotte and their relentless forecheck. Mailloux leads Rocket defensemen with two goals and six points in the playoffs.
Charlotte beat the Providence Bruins in five games in the Atlantic Division Semifinals before sweeping the two-time defending champion Hershey Bears in three games in the Atlantic Division Finals.
The Checkers have received fantastic goaltending from Kaapo Kahkonen who allowed just five goals against Hershey. He has a 6-2 record with a .918 SP and 1.85 GAA in the playoffs.
With a fast forecheck and balanced attack the Checkers have received scoring from all over the lineup, six players have scored at least three goals in their eight game playoff run.
Forwards John Leonard and Rasmus Asplund lead the team with six points, Asplund tops the team with four goals. Justin Sourdif and Oliver Okuliar are built for playoff hockey and will be key for Charlotte's success against Laval.
On the back-end the Checkers rely on Trevor Carrick and Michael Benning to move the puck and provide offense. Those two along with Tobias Bjornfot will look to contain the Rocket offense.
Charlotte is a brutal 2/28 on the powerplay in the playoffs but have a 92% success rate on the penalty kill. Laval's penalty kill has been shaky, allowing seven goals in 30 times shorthanded. The Rocket powerplay has been decent and is 8/33, though they have allowed to shorthanded goals against.
Keep an eye on the Florida Panthers team site for more updates on the Checkers and Montreal Canadiens team site for more updates on the Rocket.
Make sure you bookmark The Hockey News' AHL Page for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more.