How Will Kaskisuo's Absence Affect the Rocket?

A lower-body injury will keep Jakub Dobes' new goaltending partner out of the lineup for an unknown amount of time.

Excerpt from 'Rocket Hockey Report' of host Amy Johnson commenting on Sean Farrell's return from injury.

The ink has barely dried on the new AHL contract signed between the Laval Rocket and goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo, but the team will be without his services for at least this week and perhaps longer.

On Monday, the Rocket announced that Kaskisuo would be sidelined on a week-to-week basis with a lower-body injury. That news came on the heels of Sunday's announcement that netminder Strauss Mann had been recalled from the ECHL's Trois-Rivieres Lions.

Since signing Kaskisuo to a PTO in December, Laval has seen better stability and consistency in the crease. He and rookie Jakub Dobes seem to pair well together, and the more equal share of workload and responsibility has seemed to have a positive effect on Dobes' first-year development.

During Kaskisuo's PTO, Mann remained with Laval as the third goaltender. He practiced with the team, and very occasionally dressed as a backup for game situations to give one of the other two a night completely off.

But Mann was finally sent down to the ECHL just a couple of weeks ago, where he recorded his first career ECHL shutout. In fact that was just one of two games he played for the Lions before being recalled to Laval.

So with Kaskisuo now out of the lineup for an unspecified length of time, what affect will having to revert to a Dobes-Mann tandem have on the Rocket? Last week they took down the top team in the AHL, but then suffered significant back-to-back losses to one of the North Division teams they're chasing in the standings.

The battle for the final playoff position is officially on, and on my latest episode of Rocket Hockey Report, I review Laval's latest games and have a in-depth conversation with AHL expert Patrick Williams about the ripple effect of Kaskisuo's injury. If you're looking for some perspective what the Rocket is up against in the weeks ahead, click to watch the video below, or follow this link to watch on YouTube: Another One? The Laval Rocket Now Have TWO Players Missing This Week!

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xKt0hh-PGw[/embed]

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