Laval Rocket draws first blood in North Division final at Rochester

Montreal Gazette

15-05-2025

Laval Rocket
By
Back and forth they went, like a great heavyweight title boxing match. What else would you expect from the two best teams in the AHL's North Division?
And when all was said and done, it was the Laval Rocket's Oliver Kapanen who landed the knockout blow.
Kapanen, who joined the Rocket after the Canadiens were eliminated in the opening-round of the NHL playoffs by the Washington Capitals, scored the winning goal at 15:22 of the third period, as Laval edged the Rochester Americans 5-4 Wednesday night in the opening game of the teams' best-of-five division final before 6,162 spectators at Blue Cross Arena.
The second game of the series will be played Friday night at Rochester before the teams return to Laval's Place Bell Wednesday. And just like the Rocket did in its opening round against Cleveland, which also started on the road with two games, it has already seized control. The Rocket defeated Monsters in four games.
Kapanen deflected Logan Mailloux's shot from the point past Rochester goaltender Devon Levi, and used his 6-foot-2, 194-pound body effectively, standing directly in front of the net. The goal came barely more than four minutes after Isak Rosen tied the game, and with the teams seemingly headed to overtime.
Rosen, selected 14th overall by Buffalo in 2021, is one of five former first-round Sabres draft choices playing for Rochester. He was the Americans' leading scorer this season, with 28 goals and 55 points in 61 games.
While Kapanen, only 21, spent the majority of his season in Sweden playing for Timra IK, he dressed for 18 games with Montreal, producing a pair of assists, and played in three of the Canadiens' playoff games. Selected in the second round (64th overall) in 2021, he scored 15 goals and 35 points this season for Timra.
Defencemen Mailloux and David Reinbacher, both former first-round Canadiens' draft choices, scored the Rocket's opening two goals. Brandon Gignac and Alex Barré-Boulet also scored as the visitors directed 34 shots at Levi. Owen Beck and Sean Farrell played strong games, both contributing two assists.
Levi, a Dollard-des-Ormeaux native, became the third goalie in Rochester franchise history — and the first since Mika Noronen in 2000 — to post consecutive playoff shutouts as the Americans swept Syracuse in three games. Indeed, Levi had a shutout streak of 166:35 before Mailloux scored at 10:04 of the first period, having stopped 82 consecutive shots.
The Rocket displayed resilience, as it has all season in forging the AHL's best record (48-19-5). It overcame two one-goal deficits and showed character following Rosen's tying goal, when it would have been easy to suffer an emotional letdown on the road.
'We might have got away from our game a little bit and had some lapses throughout the game,' Mailloux told the media in Rochester.
Laval was playing following an eight-day layoff, but it was worse for the Americans, idle since May 1.
Kale Clague, Konsta Helenius and Josh Dunne scored Rochester's other goals. Defenceman Clague, who has scored in each of his team's four games, played 25 games for the Canadiens during the 2021-22 season after being claimed off waivers from Los Angeles.
After keeping his choice of netminders secret all week, Laval head coach Pascal Vincent decided to start with Cayden Primeau. But Vincent said both goalies will play, likely meaning Jacob Fowler will start on Friday.
Primeau, who lost Game 3 against Cleveland, only faced 27 shots and didn't look good on Rosen's goal — a low shot between the legs. But Primeau also made some critical saves. His best might have come in the ninth minute of the second period, when he robbed Helenius with a glove save.
'I mean, they don't ask how,' Primeau told the media in Rochester. 'We're happy to get the first win. We're never out of it. We're a mature group and there's a lot of resilience in the locker room.
'It's definitely not a time to be selfish. I'm not worried about (the rotation) too much. Just be ready when your name's called.'
Gignac, who missed most of the season with a knee injury, scored his first goal since Nov. 22. It was one of two power-play goals scored by Laval.
'It has been a really long time,' Gignac told the media in Rochester. 'I don't remember what the feeling of scoring a goal was like.'
Gignac, Kapanen and Joshua Roy formed an effective line. While Roy still is seeking his first post-season goal, he contributed an assist. But he also took an unnecessary cross-checking minor in the first period — Klague scored while he was off — and should have been penalized in the third period when he took Rochester captain Mason Jobst into the boards from behind.
Nonetheless, Vincent said he was impressed by Roy's physical play.