Charlotte breezes to 5-1 victory over Laval Rocket
Laval Rocket
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No longer is it a question of whether the Laval Rocket will win this AHL Eastern Conference final series.
Instead, can the Rocket even win a game? That appears unlikely.
Laval, a relatively young team, has provided little opposition for the vastly superior, more talented and experienced Charlotte Checkers.
Sunday afternoon, in what had to be considered a must-win scenario, the visiting Rocket were nothing but pushovers and totally outclassed yet again. The Checkers skated to an easy 5-1 victory before 8,292 spectators at the Bojangles Coliseum and now lead the best-of-seven series 3-0.
On the bright side, for the first time in the series, Laval didn't surrender a shorthanded goal. Small consolation.
While the Rocket finished first overall in the league this season, the team has collectively hit a wall. The players and head coach Pascal Vincent simply have no answer and appear unable to stop the bleeding.
Laval will attempt to stave off elimination Tuesday night in Charlotte (7 p.m., RDS). Should the visitors somehow triumph, the fifth game would be played in Charlotte on Thursday night.
Three teams in AHL history have overcome 3-0 deficits.
In the opening-round of the 1960 playoffs, Rochester defeated Cleveland. In the 1989 Southern Division final, Adirondack defeated Hershey. The fifth and deciding games were decided in overtime. And in the 2013 Eastern Conference semifinal, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton beat Providence.
Laval hasn't lost three successive games since late November — those three defeats all coming on the road.
Riley Bezeau paced Charlotte on Sunday with two goals. Will Lockwood, John Leonard and Sandis Vilmanis also scored. Bezeau, who scored only two goals in 24 regular-season games, now has three alone against Laval. As for Leonard, he continues to lead Charlotte in scoring, with six goals and 10 points in 11 games. Leonard also extended his point streak to seven games, while Lockwood has points in four consecutive games.
The Checkers are on a seven-game winning streak, having not lost since May 9.
Charlotte broke this game open with four second-period goals. Two were scored within 68 seconds, providing the Checkers with a 3-0 lead. Vincent called a time-out at that juncture in an attempt to settle down his team, but it didn't work. Charlotte added another score, taking a 4-0 lead — the three goals coming in a span of 4:21.
'They got one goal there,' captain Lucas Condotta told the media in Charlotte. 'We had about a five- or six-minute stretch where we gave up a few goals. That kills you in the playoffs. It's hard to dig yourself out of a hole like that.
'It's a different game in the playoffs. We have to regroup for the next game here and figure something out. It's on the guys in the room. We have to get going here. Just believe, that's it.'
Following the fourth goal, starting goaltender Cayden Primeau was replaced by Jacob Fowler. It marked the second consecutive game in which Primeau was removed in the second period after being beaten four times; this time on 16 shots in barely more than 25 minutes. Fowler stopped 12 of 13 shots in 34:46.
It would appear Vincent has no choice, with the season on the line, but to start Fowler on Tuesday. As for Primeau, a potential restricted free agent this summer, he has done nothing in this series to attract a new franchise.
Jared Davidson, on the power play, scored Laval's only goal at 8:49 of the second period, deflecting an Owen Beck shot.
'We don't want to be in this position right now,' Davidson told the media in Charlotte. 'They're playing well (but) we have a little more than we can give. We'll come in (Tuesday) and try to earn another game. No championship team goes through nothing throughout the whole season and the playoffs. Crazier things have been done. We just have to come ready to play.'
The Rocket has been outscored 15-4 in the series and has yet to produce the opening goal. Two of the four goals have been scored by defencemen.
Charlotte goalie Kaapo Kahkonen has stopped 75 of 79 shots and has now won 16 of his last 20 games, dating back to March 21. Kahkonen played four full NHL seasons with Minnesota and San Jose between 2020-24. The Checkers won the Calder Cup in 2019 and appear headed to the final again.
While the Rocket is now 3-2 on the road this post-season and 11-3-1 since Feb. 26, it has never won in Charlotte in five attempts.
Laval was without centre and leading playoff scorer Laurent Dauphin, who didn't return after being taken into the boards from behind by defenceman Marek Alscher in the second period of Thursday's second game. He was replaced Sunday by Luke Tuch.
The Rocket produced only 23 shots against Kahkonen. Joshua Roy had a team-leading four shots. Florian Xhekaj was a minus-3, while eight others — including defencemen Logan Mailloux, David Reinbacher, Noel Hoefenmayer and Zack Hayes — were all minus-2.
Laval started well, generating the game's first three shots, before defenceman Adam Engstrom lost his check, allowing Bezeau to open the scoring at 9:17.
In the period's 12th minute, Alex Barré-Boulet came dangerously close to tying the score, only to hit the post on a breakaway. It was that kind of an afternoon for Laval. And then everything fell apart in the second period.
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