Saturday, June 11, 2022. 4:20 PM
LAVAL – The Rocket was surprised by the same trick it had played the day before at the Springfield Thunderbirds, Saturday night at Place Bell.
The Canadiens’ farm club squandered a two-goal lead and lost 3-2 in overtime in Game 5 of the American League East final. He will now have to win two games on the road to qualify for the final 4-of-7 in the AHL playoffs.
James Neal threw a chill in the amphitheater by firing a precise shot behind an overwhelmed Cayden Primeau at 18:35 of the fourth period. Author of 42 saves the day before, the Laval goalkeeper was once once more imperial in front of the opposing barrage. On Saturday he was beaten on the 47e opponent’s shot on target.
If Primeau was the busier of the two goalkeepers in the added time, the Rocket came close to winning the duel. Danick Martel sliced through the air in front of a wide-open net and Jean-Sébastien Dea was frustrated by Charlie Lindgren on a breakaway.
Rather generous once morest his former team in the second game of the series, Lindgren was without reproach on his return to Laval. He made 25 saves, including a few smoking ones.
“It was still a tight game, it might have gone one way or the other. You have to have a short memory. Our goal now is to earn a seventh game,” captain Xavier Ouellet said following the loss.
“I think we have a group that is quite resilient. We have shown it throughout the year, we have always bounced back, encouraged head coach Jean-François Houle. You take it one game at a time. Our guys give it their all, they give it their all in every game. We have a good group and we don’t need to make big speeches. The guys know it, they are prepared. They want to win. »
“I don’t remember being behind 3-2 in a series, but one thing is certain, we won’t give up, promised Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, the author of his two goals. We will arrive there with the knife between the teeth. I don’t have experience at that level, but the guys in the locker room have it and they’re going to spread the word. »
Springfield had tied the game with just under five minutes left in the third period when a Dakota Joshua shot deflected off a defender who was acting as a screen. Intractable until then, Cayden Primeau froze and might only follow with his eyes the lame duck who beat him to his left.
Nathan Todd, also on a deflected shot, had put the T-Birds on the score late in the second period.
“Yes, offensively, they got the better of us in shots. When we had a one-goal lead, we stayed a little more in our zone, but we did well, we defended well to try to get the victory, Houle put it into perspective. They had a goal, it hit a stick and it went in. And in overtime, we had our chances. »
“We didn’t play our best game defensively, but we didn’t play incredibly badly either,” Harvey-Pinard said. They created a lot of traffic in our zone and brought a lot of pucks to the net. The number of shots does not necessarily reflect our defensive game, but we can tighten up. »
Harvey-Pinard found the back of the opposing net in a fourth straight game. He has five goals in that span, having been shut out in his first nine games of the playoffs.
Play with fire
On a mission since the start of this semi-final, the Rocket’s defensive specialists delivered another perfect performance. The penalty kill shut out the Thunderbirds on seven occasions. Springfield’s power play, which was 38% following the first two rounds, was completely handcuffed 25 times through five games.
Houle said he was proud of this achievement, but does not hide the fact that something annoys him: his team is punished far too much for his taste and he fears that they will end up getting burned if they continue to play with fire like this. However, its margin of error is now non-existent.
On Saturday, veteran Alex Belzile singlehandedly picked up three minor penalties and a double minor.
“It’s been two games in a row, almost three, that we’ve taken six or seven penalties. It’s too much, decried the coach. We have to control our sticks, we have to control our emotions. Of course we talk regarding it and we know that it is not easy. »
“Of course it doesn’t help to play so much shorthanded,” admits Ouellet. It’s intense, it’s emotional and the guys fight hard. I don’t know if all the penalties are deserved, but you have to find a way to stay away from the bench. »
RHP doesn’t ring a bell, it opens the mark!
Him once more! Harvey-Pinard doubles the lead
