Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
The Laval Rocket had answers all season. But staggering after three decisive losses to the Charlotte Checkers in the Eastern Conference Finals, and the Rocket are scrambling for a response at the worst possible time.
The Checkers went into Place Bell, a building that had been a fortress all season for Laval, and handed the hosts a 5-1 and 5-2 thumpings. Still, the Rocket flew to Charlotte with a chance to reset and begin chipping away at the series.
That most assuredly did not happen Sunday afternoon. Charlotte grabbed a 1-0 first-period lead in Game 3 at Bojangles Coliseum. Then came three goals in the opening 5:14 of the second period that blew the game open on the way to another 5-1 Checkers victory.
“It’s hard to dig yourself in a hole like that,” captain Lucas Condotta told reporters afterward. “It’s on the guys in the room. We’ve got to get going here.”
The Rocket face elimination going into Game 4 in Charlotte tonight. After league-best 48 wins and 101 points, followed by series victories over Cleveland and Rochester to reach the final four, Laval is at risk of seeing their title hopes vanish. All season long the Rocket had been the faster, more physical, more puck-hungry team. But the Checkers have proven to be more than capable of matching them – and much more. Charlotte has pulled the Rocket into significant defensive breakdowns that the Checkers have turned into goals.
Slice the numbers any which way, but they all are troubling for the Rocket. They have been outscored in this series, 15-4. They spotted Charlotte leads of 3-0, 4-0 and 4-0. Cayden Primeau, who was arguably the best goaltender in the AHL over the second half of the season, has a .774 save percentage in the series and was pulled in both Game 2 and Game 3 in favor of rookie Jacob Fowler.
Veteran defenseman Tyler Wotherspoon has missed the last five games due to injury. William Trudeau has been out of the lineup the last four games. And Laurent Dauphin, whose five postseason goals lead the Rocket, was injured in Game 2 against Charlotte. Those are significant losses for Laval, which has scored just two even-strength goals and has just two goals from forwards through nine periods of the series.
If the Rocket are to continue their bid for a Calder Cup, they will have to figure out the Checkers. Figure out Kaapo Kähkönen, who has stopped 75 of 79 shots in the series. Clean up the breakdowns inside the neutral and defensive zones. And figure out themselves. The opportunity for self-analysis is something that the Calder Cup Playoffs provide young prospects, and it is something that every championship contender must encounter.
They staved off elimination once against Rochester. Now the Rocket will have to do it again. And again. And again. And one more time. Or else they will go home for the summer.
Said Davidson, “We’ll come in and try to earn another day.”
On the American Hockey League beat for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.
