The AHL Eastern Conference Final got underway Wednesday night at Place Bell, and the Charlotte Checkers dominated the Laval Rocket, at least on the scoreboard, winning 5-1. The Montreal Canadiens' farm team had not played the Florida Panthers' farm team since 2018, and they’ll need to adapt in a hurry if they don’t want to see the series slip between their fingers.
Following the Rocket’s morning skate, it looked like Jacob Fowler would be getting the start since he was the first goaltender off the ice, but when the puck dropped on game one, Cayden Primeau was between the posts. Unfortunately for the veteran, he wasn’t in the same superb form he had in the divisional final, and he surrendered four goals in just 19 shots for a mediocre .789 save percentage. Charlotte scored twice on its first three shots.
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Meanwhile, the Rocket took 31 shots on Checkers netminder Kaapo Kahkonen, but Oliver Kapanen was the only one who got a puck past him. It wasn’t for lack of trying. Pascal Vincent’s men got their opportunities, especially since the Checkers were far from being disciplined, getting seven penalties before things got ugly. Both teams were assessed tons of penalties with just over two minutes left in the game.
It was a tough night at the office for veterans Alex Barre-Boulet and Laurent Dauphin, the pair who lead the Rocket in points with 10 and nine points, respectively. They finished the night with a minus-four rating and struggled to find lanes to the opponent’s net.
The Rocket will need to turn over a new leaf in a hurry since game two is set for Thursday night. Vincent’s team would do well to be ready from puck drop since the Checkers scored early in each period on Wednesday. They scored within two minutes of the start of the first and second frames and 31 seconds into the final frame.
Jacob Fowler should be back in the net tonight, as it's the second part of the back-to-back. Additionally, Vincent hasn’t said he’d move away from the alternation system he put into place since Primeau returned from the NHL once the Canadiens were eliminated.
Game two will be a must-win affair for Laval, as games three through five will be played in Charlotte. Losing both home games to start the series would put the Rocket in a tricky situation, to say the least. Game two is set for 7:00 PM and will be broadcast on RDS.
Photo Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn
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