Can the Rocket Overcome Early Stumbles? | Laval Week In Review

The Laval Rocket look to reset this week, coming back to Quebec following a two-game road trip where they returned home with no points earned.

It's safe to say that last weekend's two-game road swing for the Laval Rocket, with visits to the Rochester Americans and the Syracuse Crunch, didn't really go as planned.

After defeating the Amerks 8-4 the week prior, it likely came as a surprise to the Laval bench when the final horn sounded on Friday night and they found themselves on the wrong end of a 7-4 final score.

The following night, traveling just down the road to Syracuse, the Rocket took on the Crunch for the first time this season. If they had hoped to find some redemption, it didn't come on that night, as Joel Bouchard's club shut the door on his former team in a scathing 5-0 shutout.

Sitting at the very bottom of the standings just two weeks into the season can't feel good for the players and coaches of the Laval Rocket, nor is it helpful for the Montreal Canadiens' prospects playing there, in a year where development is so highly prioritized.

So what's the issue? Well, defensive mistakes, for one. Turnovers have been costly. Discipline has been mediocre, at best, and with a penalty-kill ranked in the bottom five in the AHL, it's not ideal for Laval to be shorthanded any more than necessary. 

The team can only go up from here, and that's the silver lining. Add to that some encouraging plays and moments from some of the prospects, and things aren't maybe as dire as they appear on the stat sheet. But with a tough three-game home stand against more division opponents on the calendar this week, it'll take hard work and better focus to right the ship and start sailing on a more productive path.

You watched an excerpt of my latest episode of Rocket Hockey Report at the top of this article, so if you want to hear the REST of my Laval Rocket analysis, simply click the following link to watch this week's episode on YouTube: THESE Things Need to Improve QUICKLY for the Laval Rocket

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.