The Laval Rocket lost all three games on the road. The Canadiens' AHL affiliate's power play is slumping.
The Laval Rocket wrapped up their week on the road with a 4-3 shootout loss to the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday. The team drove back to Quebec following the game with three of the six available points this week.
"In all three games, we easily could have won. In the first two games, we had a breakaway in the final minute of each game. The pucks aren't bouncing our way right now, but it's not going to be that way forever. Things will go our way and once it does it's going to feel good," Riley Kidney said following Saturday's contest.
In the two matches earlier in the week, the Rocket lost twice in overtime against the Rochester Americans. There was some frustration around the team because in the first contest, they felt that Sean Farrell received an unwarranted infraction that led to a power play goal in overtime and on Friday, the bench felt the officials missed a penalty in the extra period when Kidney was tangled up with opposition in the offensive zone.
"It's not a disaster but in the position we're in with a bad start to the season it hurts. We were hoping to get at least four points during this trip," Tobie Paquette-Bisson commented.
Quick Turnaround
In the lessons being learned by the young players going through their first steps of professional hockey, is dealing with the quick turnarounds in the schedule. On the weekend, the Rocket jumped on the bus following their game in Rochester for an approximate 90-minute drive to Syracuse for Saturday's contest.
"It's not easy. People don't know that we finish a game and arrive to our next destination at 2:00-3:00 am. We sleep late and wake up early. I think the guys did a good job. The young players are starting to learn that on the third road game, we have to make simple plays," Bisson added.
Jean-Francois Houle acknowledges that it's a difficult situation, but it's not an excuse to explain the results. "All the teams face these conditions. We have to roll up our sleeves and deal with it."
Power Play Slump
Laval hits the Place Bell ice for two days of practice starting on Monday, before boarding a plane on Wednesday to travel to British Columbia. The team will hold one more practice on Thursday before squaring off against the Abbotsford Canucks on Friday and Saturday.
One aspect likely on the Houle's agenda prior to Friday's contest will be the power play. The Rocket's man advantage has been blanked in four consecutive games and 10 opportunities.
"We need some work on the power play. Our execution is not on point and we're not getting enough shots. The power play has to at least keep the momentum for us, and not lose momentum," said Houle evaluating the performance in Syracuse.
Injuries to key players have not helped the situation. Lias Andersson leads the team with three power play goals despite having missed the last eight contests with a lower body injury.
Emil Heineman, out with an upper body injury since October 14th, was expected to have a key offensive role and contribute on the man advantage.
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