The Laval Rocket bowed out of the Calder Cup playoff on Saturday afternoon after a 3-2 defeat against the Toronto Marlies.
The Montreal Canadiens’ farm team, the Laval Rocket, was eliminated from the AHL playoffs on Saturday afternoon when it dropped Game 5 by a score of 3-2 against the Toronto Marlies. The Rocket had won its division’s championship in the regular season and benefited from a bye in the first round. Still, it’s a disappointment to see them be eliminated so early in the spring dance.
Speaking after the defeat, Rocket coach Pascal Vincent said it was a tough series for his team, which played most of the series with only five defensemen. The Canadiens sent David Reinbacher down to the AHL before the start of the series, but kept Adam Engstrom until Noah Dobson was cleared for action. Unfortunately, when Engstrom came back, Reinbacher suffered an injury that kept him out of the lineup for the fifth and final game.
Furthermore, the Rocket was without its number-one goaltender, Jacob Fowler, who is now in the NHL with the Habs. Vincent’s team had to rely on Kappo Kahkonen, who played all five games and had a 3.03 goals-against-average and a .871 save percentage. He was backed up by Hunter Shepard, who saw 40 minutes of action in one game in relief of Kahkonen and had a 3.00 GAA and a .833 SV%.
The coach didn’t mention that he had to make do without Fowler, but Laval would have been better off with him. He played 27 regular-season games with Laval, posting a 2.23 GAA and a .916 SV%. In last season’s playoff, the rookie netminder had kept a 2.48 GAA and a .902 SV%.
It’s a shame for the Rocket, but the Canadiens are the priority, and Samuel Montembeault’s collapse this season has forced the Habs' brass to promote the young Fowler earlier than most thought he would be. Of course, right now, he’s not seeing a lot of action as he backs up Jakub Dobes, but he’s still gaining some valuable experience. He’s seeing the intensity of the playoffs first-hand, practicing with the team daily, and working with goalie coach Marco Marciano.
At this stage, it seems like a foregone conclusion that GM Kent Hughes will look to move Montembeault this summer and start the next season with a tandem made up of Dobes and Fowler.
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