The Laval Rocket continued their New England road trip on Sunday afternoon with a stop in Providence to square off with the Bruins. Laval snatched both points on Friday in Hartford thanks in part to a last-second goal by Logan Mailloux and remained atop the North Division as a result. The Bruins scored a shootout win over Springfield on Saturday night and hadn’t seen the Rocket since Laval swept a homestand against them in November.
There was just one major lineup change as Riley Kidney drew in on the top line as Rafaël Harvey-Pinard had been called up to the NHL on Saturday. The defensive pairings remained the same, meaning Jayden Struble and Adam Engström stayed together. In net, it was Cayden Primeau getting the start as he looked to push his AHL record to 7-0-0.
The Bruins were clearly on shaky legs after playing two games in two days before this match, and Laval took advantage. The Rocket gained the zone with ease, cycled relentlessly, and peppered Mikey DiPietro with chance after chance, but could not find any rebounds to get a puck beyond the Bruins goalie. Eventually, the frustration for the Bruins boiled over as Trevor Kuntar took a slashing penalty inside the offensive zone, and gave Laval the game’s first power play.
It turns out the best way to snap a power-play funk is to get out there against a team that you’ve been dominating since puck drop. Laval moved the puck through the zone, freeing up a wide-open shooting lane at the point. Laurent Dauphin pivoted the puck back to Noel Hoefenmayer and the Rocket defenceman blistered his shot by DiPietro to open the scoring.
Struble followed up the Rocket goal with a tripping penalty, giving the Bruins a chance to sneak back into the game despite being soundly outplayed in the first period. Laval’s penalty-killers clamped down on the Bruins, allowing just three shots on net and keeping their lead intact as the first period entered its final minutes.
As Struble exited the box, the Rocket heaped on the pressure, turning away the Bruins in their own zone and executing their relentless cycle in the offensive zone. Kidney inserted himself quite well on the Rocket top line, finding instant chemistry with Dauphin, but the finishing touch was lacking just a touch as the period came to an end. Laval entered the first intermission in firm control of the game, but in need of a few more goals to create some separation.
Instead, the second period started as poorly as it could have as the Bruins came out and levelled the game on their first shift. Riley Duran battled into the net-front area while creating a rebound chance. The puck bounced back to Duran, who lifted a backhand over Primeau’s shoulder.
While the Rocket seemed primed to get back into things after the goal against, momentary lapses of judgment continued to hurt the team, this time with Gustav Lindström heading to the box for holding. Xavier Simoneau continued to be a pest on the penalty kill, pushing the Bruins back repeatedly and allowing the Rocket to escape Lindström’s penalty without much issue.
Sticking to their game plan ended up paying off once again for the Rocket as they kept the Bruins stuck on the ice while forcing multiple icings. Off the draw, Kidney got the puck quickly over to Alex Barré-Boulet in the faceoff circle, and Barré-Boulet quickly snapped it off the post and in behind DiPietro to restore the lead.
As the Rocket began to generate consistent pressure inside the offensive zone, they went back to killing a penalty as Florian Xhekaj took a seat for a hold in the offensive zone. The penalty-killers did another fantastic job, giving the Bruins absolutely nothing in terms of high-danger chances around Primeau despite having one of their best defenders sitting in the box.
The lack of composure by the Bruins put the Rocket on their second power play of the game, with a huge opportunity to double their advantage and finally put some distance between themselves and their opponent. DiPietro was again dialed in, flustering the Rocket even as they pounded in chance after chance on net. The lack of goals began to become a problem as Vincent Arseneau was called for boarding in the offensive zone, putting the penalty-killers back to work.
The Bruins cancelled out their own power play as Patrick Brown went off for tripping and handed the Rocket an abbreviated power-play chance. The Rocket continued to push the Bruins, but the incredible efforts of DiPietro in net kept the lead at still just one goal as the second intermission rolled around.
Laval’s inability to widen the gap in the previous period came back to haunt them early on in the third period as the Bruins were all over them from the opening faceoff. Tyler Pitlick and the Providence top line kept them hemmed in and had Primeau swimming to make saves in order to keep the lead intact. Eventually, a rebound off a Kuntar shot bounced back to Joey Abate, and it was Abate who tucked it through the five-hole to tie the game up once more.
The goal from the Bruins seemingly took all the wind out of the sails of the Rocket who were beginning to be the ones who were pressured instead of the ones bringing the pressure like they did earlier in the game. Passes began to miss their mark, and what shots did make it through on net were not especially dangerous for DiPietro.
As the time got down to the final moments it was clear that the Bruins were trying to end the game in regulation, while the more rested Rocket looked like they were playing to earn at least one point. Laval managed to ramp up for one last push, and the Bruins survived the final 30 seconds and forced overtime.
In overtime, the old Rocket woke up. A great defensive play by Logan Mailloux at one end allowed the Rocket to transition into the Providence zone with speed, as Barré-Boulet teed up Mailloux for a shot, Mailloux’s stick shattered in his hands. Mailloux went to grab a fresh twig from the bench, with the Bruins looking to exit the zone, but a deft steal by Barré-Boulet became a breakaway chance. DiPietro stopped him cold, but Dauphin grabbed the loose puck and found a wide-open Mailloux. For a second straight game it was Mailloux burying the game-winner to secure a second point for Laval on the road.
Final Score: Laval 3, Providence 2 (OT)
Laval now has a nice break before they welcome the Hartford Wolf Pack for a two-game homestand, starting on Friday night.
