Top-seeded Rouyn-Noranda looks to take down a Gatineau side who is the lowest-ranked 2026 playoff team.
In the West, the 1v8 matchup comes between a Rouyn-Noranda side that grinded out the top seed in the final few weeks of the season against a Gatineau team that lacks a true offensive punch.
It'll be up to the Huskies' top scorers to break through the Olympiques' sneaky-solid back end and goaltending.
While the top-seed Huskies have 40 more standings points and 19 more wins on the season, there's always a chance that they run into trouble against a stingy defensive opponent.
Rouyn-Noranda's Benjamin Brunelle battles in the corner with Gatineau's Yan Gaudreau. (Photo: Jean Lapointe)What to expect from Rouyn-Noranda
The Huskies are led by Thomas Verdon, who finished the regular season with 95 points to cap off a strong overage campaign.
Behind him, veterans like Samuel Beauchemin, Eliot Ogonowski and Nathan Langois, alongside young import Lars Steiner round out a strong offensive core, while Antoine St-Laurent, Axel Dufresne and Alexis Lemire make up a solid back end.
In the second part of the season, the breakout of rookies like Jayden Pominville helped round out the roster as well. And, of course, having a workhorse like Samuel Meloche in goal gives this team a very high floor.
The Huskies weren't a super dominant force all year, but they were consistent, and very hard to beat at home, with only five losses at Aréna Glencore this season.
So, take a solid team that is hard to beat in front of their home fans, get them hot at the right time (9-1 in their final 10 games) to give them the one seed, and you've got a team looking to make a solid run in the playoffs.
What to expect from Gatineau
For the 16th-best team to make the playoffs, the Olympiques are actually a very solid defensive team.
They allowed just 3.32 goals per game this season, good for ninth in the league, and Danai Shaiikov had a very strong rookie year in goal, posting a .903 save percentage and 2.73 goals-against average, marks that rank him around the top 10 range in the league.
Where they struggle pretty badly is putting the puck in the opposition goal. Their leading scorer, Justin Boisselle, had just 35 points this year, one of just three Olympiques to hit the 30-point mark.
They sit in between Rimouski and Baie-Comeau, the two non-playoff teams, in goals for, with a mark of 2.23 per game. Those bottom three are significantly behind the rest of the league, and the Olympiques sit second-last.
So, to win this series, they'll need an offensive star to step up, while the defensive unit stays rock solid, and Shaiikov continues to make saves.
Schedule
Game one: Friday, March 27, 7:00 PM EDT @ Rouyn-Noranda
Game two: Saturday, March 28, 4:00 PM EDT @ Rouyn-Noranda
Game three: Tuesday, March 31, 7:00 PM EDT @ Gatineau
Game four: Wednesday, April 1, 7:00 PM EDT @ Gatineau
Game five*: Friday, April 3, 7:00 PM EDT @ Rouyn-Noranda
Game six*: Sunday, April 5, 3:00 PM EDT @ Gatineau
Game seven*: Tuesday, April 7, 7:00 PM EDT @ Rouyn-Noranda
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