After two weeks of good results for the Laval Rocket, the team received a rude awakening in the first game of their road trip.

GAME RECAP | Laval Rocket: 1 vs Toronto Marlies: 7 (FINAL)

Rocket Lineup

Forward lines
15 Sean Farrell - 37 Brandon Gignac - 19 Emil Heineman
16 Arnaud Durandeau - 61 Philippe Maillet - 28 Lias Andersson
21 Riley Kidney - 27 Mitchell Stephens - 34 Jacob Perreault
68 Riley McKay - 42 Lucas Condotta - 20 Gabriel Bourque

Defense pairings
84 William Trudeau - 52 Justin Barron
4 Paquette-Bisson - 24 Logan Mailloux
29 Mattias Norlinder - 44 Olivier Galipeau

Goaltenders
71 Jakub Dobes
73 Kasimir Kaskisuo

Out of the lineup:
Scratches: Chris Jandric, Filip Cederqvist

Injuries: Brady Keeper (lower body), Jared Davidson, Xavier Simoneau (shoulder)

Game Report

After a very successful home stand that saw the Laval Rocket claw their way back into the North Division's final playoff spot, the team kicked off a five-game road trip on Sunday afternoon.

Starting with a visit to Toronto, the Rocket will face all divisional opponents on this trip. The Marlies, having beaten the Rochester Americans on Saturday afternoon, took that final playoff position back from Laval, setting up a very important Sunday matchup with the two teams separated by just one point in the standings.

Toronto controlled the puck for the better part of the opening minutes. Kiefer Bellows opened the scoring on the game's first power play, with William Trudeau in the box for slashing. Bellows whipped a quick snipe from the left circle, finding the far top corner for the goal.

Joseph Blandisi then added to Toronto's tally just over a minute later when he got in close for a shot, and Jakub Dobes accidentally knocked the rebound backwards through his pads.

With less than two minutes left in the opening period, Roni Hirvonen extended Toronto's lead after William Trudeau turned the puck over in the neutral zone. 

Emil Heineman took an ill-timed boarding penalty with 26 seconds remaining, allowing Nick Abruzzese to quickly score off a very sharp-angled shot on the power play. The Rocket found themselves down 4-0 at the first intermission, with only five shots on goal.

The second period opened with Jakub Dobes being replaced between the pipes by Kasimir Kaskisuo. Laval found their footing a bit better to start this period, thanks in part to back-to-back penalties taken by Toronto. 

As a result, the Rocket quickly amassed 11 shots on goal, and one of them got through for their opening goal of the game. Heineman found redemption when, on the second power play of the period, he buried a one-timer from the right circle.

Unfortunately, Toronto quickly restored their four-goal lead when Dylan Gambrell pushed his own rebound past Kaskisuo to make it a 5-1 game.

The Marlies managed to find the back of Laval's net two more times in the third period, including a second goal of the game by Blandisi. It was obvious that the Rocket didn't have an answer to try to mount a comeback, and as a result they now find themselves back to being three points out of a playoff position.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLTZYCYPmG0[/embed]

Game Statistics

Rocket (27-25-6-2)
Shots: 31
Power play: 1-for-5
Penalty minutes: 20

Marlies (27-20-9-2)
Shots: 25
Power play: 2-for-4
Penalty minutes: 22

Scoring Summary

Rocket Scorers
1st period: No scoring
2nd period: Heineman (12)-PPG
3rd period: No scoring
OT: n/a
SO: n/a

Marlies Scorers
1st period: Bellows (26)-PPG, Blandisi (22), Hirvonen (4), Abruzzese (13)-PPG
2nd period: Gambrell (12)
3rd period: Blandisi (23), Pietroniro (2)
OT: n/a
SO: n/a

Goaltenders
LAV: Dobes (Kaskisuo) (L) 19-14-6-1
TOR: Hildeby (W) 16-9-6-4

Players of the Game

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Looking Back

Did you miss the Rocket's last game? Catch up on the recap here: Moving Into Prime Position | RECAP: BRI @ LAV

Up Next

The Rocket continue their road trip on Friday to kick off a three-in-three weekend against the Senators.

Puck drop on Friday, March 22nd, is scheduled for 7:00 pm ET at CAA Arena in Belleville, ON.

Be sure to bookmark THN.com/Montreal for year-round coverage of the Montreal Canadiens, Laval Rocket, and Habs prospects playing in leagues around the world.