The Montreal Canadiens claimed Samuel Blais off waivers last week, and the move has already started to pay off.
After being picked up on waivers by the Montreal Canadiens, veteran winger Samuel Blais was assigned to the Laval Rocket just in time to lend a hand for a back-to-back on the weekend. With so many injuries in Montreal, plenty of the AHL team’s best players are currently with the Habs; Jared Davidson, Florian Xhekaj and Adam Engstrom were all big pieces of Pascal Vincent’s team in the AHL. The bench boss must have been glad to receive some experienced reinforcements.
After scoring two goals (three if you count the shootout goal) in his first game with the Rocket, Blais put up another two points on the scoreboard on Sunday as Laval beat the Hershey Bears 4-3. The Montmagny native picked up assists on the team’s first two goals, finished his night with a plus-three rating, took one shot and was assessed a minor penalty for interference, but managed to take David Gucciardi to the box with him.
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On Saturday, against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, he took three shots, registered a plus-two rating and was the hero in the shootout. Thanks to those two wins, the Rocket are now fifth in the league (five points from first place) and sit atop the Northern Division, two points ahead of the Syracuse Crunch.
Clearly, Blais has been a big help, and as reported yesterday, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Canadiens called him up. Davidson has been a healthy scratch for the last two games because of Alexandre Texier’s insertion in the lineup, and it makes no sense to let such a young player sit on the sidelines. At 29, Blais is much more suited to a 13th forward role than Davidson is; the youngster needs to play to keep developing.
Just like the Canadiens, the Rocket will be back in action on Tuesday when they take on the Providence Bruins in Laval at 7:00 PM.
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