Laval Rocket: Hooking the Senators on a feeling at Place Bell
By Omar L
The Laval Rocket are back at Place Bell tonight to face the Belleville Senators after playing the last four games on the road.
Similar to their game against the Binghamton Devils last week, the Laval Rocket will be taking on a team in the same situation as them. The Belleville Senators are tied with the Rocket in points with 44 and are also watching their chances of reaching the playoffs hit the floor. Both teams have also had the same poor stretch as of late with the Senators going 3-6-1-0 in their last time while the Rocket are 2-7-1-0.
Either way, Laval is going into this game as the favourite. The two teams have faced each other six times so far this season, and the Rocket have the edge in the series winning four of them. However, the Senators won the last game 4-1 so the battle between the two inaugural franchises may not be so dull despite their position in the standings.
The lineup will most likely be the same that went up against Utica with Charlie Lindgren getting the start. The 24-year-old must be feeling good about himself now that he has a shiny new three-year-deal with the Montreal Canadiens further strengthening their confidence in him long-term.
Noah Juulsen missed the last game from an illness, but it’s not confirmed whether he will be ready to go tonight. Considering there have been a few days since then, there’s a chance that his return could be in this game. Laval’s blueline has already taken a massive hit with Matt Taormina out recovering from an upper-body injury, so getting the 20-year-old back in the lineup would be a boost.
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As far as the forward groups go, there may not be too many changes there either. Chris Terry, although being day-to-day, will be absent from this game as well. Patrick Friolet of RDS tweeted that the leading scorer could make his return sometime this week, so there’s some positivity to take from that.
The Laval Rocket have been playing some energizing hockey in these last few games; they just haven’t been able to hold on and get the win.
Belleville doesn’t score a lot of goals (115 goals for this season, third last in the AHL), but they have players with skill. Jim O’Brien is leading the way with 12 goals and 14 assists, but there’s also Ben Sexton who’s been on a roll since returning from injury. The 26-year-old missed 32 games and has four points in five games so far making him someone to pay attention to.
What do you expect from the game? Can the Laval Rocket come out on top in this battle of inaugural seasons? Let us know in the comments below.