There may have been a sold-out crowd cheering them on at Place Bell, but Laval struggled to get anything going on Saturday.

GAME RECAP | Toronto Marlies 5 vs Laval Rocket 1

Rocket Lineup

Forward lines
81 Xavier Simoneau - 61 Philippe Maillet - 19 Emil Heineman
49 Jared Davidson - 37 Brandon Gignac - 15 Sean Farrell
42 Lucas Condotta - 27 Mitchell Stephens - 28 Lias Andersson
21 Riley Kidney - 14 Jan Mysak - 12 Filip Cederqvist

Defense pairings
4 Paquette-Bisson - 24 Logan Mailloux
84 William Trudeau - 52 Justin Barron
7 Chris Jandric - 44 Olivier Galipeau

Goaltenders
73 Kasimir Kaskisuo
71 Jakub Dobes

Out of the lineup:
Scratches: Riley McKay, Nathan Legare

Injuries: Brady Keeper (lower body), Gabriel Bourque, Mattias Norlinder

Game Report

The Toronto Marlies completed their weekend sweep by defeating the Laval Rocket 5-1 on Saturday in front of 10,249 fans at Place Bell. The weekend results increased the gap between the Canadiens AHL affiliate and the last playoff spot. 

Jean-Francois changed up the lineup for the rematch. Up front, Jan Mysak returned after missing the last two matches with an upper body injury and Filip Cederqvist slotted back in after being scratched on Friday. Kasimir Kaskikuo obtained the start against his former team. 

Toronto go on the board first with less than five minutes remaining in the initial period when Kieffer Bellows' shot was blocked and he picked up the rebound before sliding the puck between the goalie's pads. 

The visitors doubled their lead early in the second period while Olivier Galipeau and William Trudeau were serving minor penalties. Nick Abruzzese was parked on the side of the net and buried a rebound. 

Less than three minutes later, the Marlies added to their lead with another power play goal when Joseph Blandisi tapped in a puck that trickled behind the goalie. 

Later in the second period, Toronto sent Kaskisuo to the showers after Josiah Slavin scored on an odd man rush that began when Justin Barron got caught in the offensive zone. 

Laval got on the board in the final minute of the period while being shorthanded when Jan Mysak found Philippe Maillet in the slot and the forward beat Dennis Hildeby with a wrist shot. 

The Marlies added another goal early in the third period when Bellows redirected a shot from the point. 

A disappointing result for the Rocket leaving empty handed in two games against the team they're chasing in the standings. 

The Marlies, that had their mentor's trip in Laval, outworked the Rocket to earn the victory.  

The coach stated that he felt his players were fatigued as they concluded a stretch of six games in nine days. In hindsight, he said that the workload could have been managed better. 

Game Statistics

Rocket (22-22-5-2)
Shots: 23
Power play: 0-for-3
Penalty minutes: 12

Marlies (23-16-8-2)
Shots: 36
Power play: 2-for-4
Penalty minutes: 10

Scoring Summary

Rocket Scorers
1st period: No scoring
2nd period: Maillet (13)-SHG
3rd period: No scoring
OT: n/a
SO: n/a

Marlies Scorers
1st period: Bellows (20)
2nd period: Abruzzese (9)-PPG, Blandisi (18)-PPG, Slavin (7)
3rd period: Bellows (21)
OT: n/a
SO: n/a

Goaltenders
LAV: Kaskisuo (Dobes) (L) 5-2-0-0
TOR: Hildeby (W) 13-7-5-4

Rocket Players of the Game

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Post-Game Interviews

Jean-Francois Houle

Mitchell Stephens

Lucas Condotta

Tobie Paquette-Bisson

Looking Back

Did you miss the Rocket's last game? Catch up on the recap here: Swarmed By Special Teams | RECAP: TOR @ LAV

Up Next

The Rocket will take the day off on Sunday before resuming practice on Monday in preparation for their next game against the Bridgeport Islanders on Wednesday. 

Puck drop on Wednesday, February 28th, is scheduled for 7:00 pm ET at Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, CT.

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.