Canadiens: Laval Rocket Solves Levi And Takes 1-0 Series Lead

The third round of the Calder Cup playoffs started Wednesday night in Rochester, where the Montreal Canadiens’ farm team, the Laval Rocket, took on the Buffalo Sabres’ affiliate, the Rochester Americans.

Coming into the series, the Amerks had a bye for round one, just like the Rocket, and then swept the Syracuse Crunch in round two, meaning they were very well rested. Goaltender Devon Levi had only surrendered two goals in three games and promised to be a challenge for Pascal Vincent’s men.

As for Laval, everyone wondered if Vincent would go back to Cayden Primeau, the goaltender who got his team to the playoffs, or stick with newly signed Jacob Fowler, who signed the three-second-round wins.

The coach elected to give Primeau the nod, which could have cost him. The pending RFA faced 27 shots and made 23 saves for a .852 save percentage. Fowler has a .953 SP, leading all goaltenders in the Spring tournament. Over his two games, Primeau has a .865 SP and is second-to-last in the league. I can understand wanting to stick with the guy who got you there, but there comes a time when you must ride the hot hand, and right now, that’s Fowler.

Still, the Rocket signed a 5-4 win thanks to their potent attack. It was a great night at the office for Logan Mailloux, who had two points, a game-tying goal in the first frame, and a primary assist on the game-winning goal, with less than five minutes to go. The hulking defenseman took a shot on net, which was cleverly deflected by Oliver Kapanen, who scored his first playoff goal in the AHL in style. The Finn also got his first point earlier in the game with an assist on Brandon Gignac’s goal.

Sean Farrell kept up his fantastic form, getting a pair of assists, which gives him six points so far in the postseason, just two short of the league leaders. While Rafael Harvey-Pinard didn’t find his way to the score sheet, his tremendous work on the forecheck was the direct cause of two of the Rocket’s goals. Owen Beck also had a great night, notching a pair of assists, including one on the power play, and David Reinbacher got his first point of the playoffs with a goal.

Laval will want to keep the same level of effort in game two on Friday night, and something tells me we’ll see Fowler in the net then…

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