Swarmed By Special Teams | RECAP: TOR @ LAV

GAME RECAP | Toronto Marlies 4 vs Laval Rocket 1

Forward lines
81 Xavier Simoneau - 61 Philippe Maillet - 19 Emil Heineman
49 Jared Davidson - 27 Mitchell Stephens - 28 Lias Andersson
21 Riley Kidney - 87 Brandon Gignac - 15 Sean Farrell
68 Riley McKay - 42 Lucas Condotta - 17 Nathan Legare

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

Goaltenders
71 Jakub Dobes
73 Kasimir Kaskisuo

Out of the lineup:
Scratches: Jan Mysak, Filip Cederqvist

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

The Laval Rocket kicked off a weekend doubleheader on Friday with a 4-1 loss against the Toronto Marlies at Place Bell. This result distances Laval to three points out of a playoff spot, behind the Marlies.

For the important matchup, Sean Farrell and Brandon Gignac returned to the lineup. Farrell was sidelined with an upper body injury since January 7th, while Gignac was assigned to the AHL by the Canadiens after clearing waivers. 

Filip Cederqvist sat out the contest and Alex-Olivier Voyer was assigned to the Trois-Rivieres Lions earlier in the day.

Special teams paid off for both teams in the first period. The Marlies got on the board 30 seconds into their first power play when former Rocket Joseph Blandisi tipped William Villeneuve to the back of the net. 

The home team needed 10 seconds into their first power play as Lias Andersson knocked in a loose puck that was sitting on the red line to tie the game. The play went through a long video review by the officials before being confirmed. 

Toronto grabbed the lead early in the third period with the man advantage when former Canadien Logan Shaw picked up the rebound from a pad save and buried the puck in the net. 

Blandisi doubled the lead later in the period when he snatched up a loose puck in front of the crease and took advantage of Dobes on his back to score a power play goal. He completed his hat trick and sealed the victory with an empty net goal before the final horn.

The 10,249 fans inside Place Bell were treated to a playoff like game with a lot of post whistle scrums and physical play. 

Laval's special teams cost them the first match of the weekend series. In the second period, they failed to convert on any of their seven power play chances. Joseph Woll, currently on a conditioning stint with the Marlies, made 20 saves in the middle frame alone. 

Toronto made Laval pay for their indiscipline with three power play goals. The Rocket lead the AHL in penalty minutes.  

Rocket (22-21-5-2)
Shots: 37
Power play: 1-for-9
Penalty minutes: 22

Marlies (22-16-8-2)
Shots: 29
Power play: 3-for-5
Penalty minutes: 28

Rocket Scorers
1st period: Andersson (14)-PPG
2nd period: No scoring
3rd period: No scoring
OT: n/a
SO: n/a

Marlies Scorers
1st period: Blandisi (15)-PPG
2nd period: No scoring
3rd period: Shaw (20)-PPG, Blandisi (16)-PPG, Blandisi (17)-ENG
OT: n/a
SO: n/a

Goaltenders
LAV: Dobes (L) 15-11-5-0
TOR: Woll (W) 1-0-0-0 

Jean-Francois Houle

Sean Farrell

Xavier Simoneau

Philippe Maillet

Did you miss the Rocket's last game? Catch up on the recap here: Facing The League's Best | RECAP: HER @ LAV

The division rivals square off for a rematch on Saturday in front of a building filled to capacity.

Puck drop on Saturday, February 24th, is scheduled for 3:00 pm ET at Place Bell in Laval, QC.

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.