Montreal Canadiens recall nine players for post-season
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Shanna Martin
The Montreal Canadiens have announced that nine players have been recalled from the Laval Rocket for the post-season.
Nine players will join the team as Black Aces for the playoffs.#GoHabsGohttps://t.co/vDQKs8y8CX Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) May 18, 2021
The four forwards recalled are Alex Belzile, Laurent Dauphin, Lukas Vejdemo, and Jesse Ylönen. The three defencemen are Otto Leskinen, Cale Fleury, and Xavier Ouellet. Goaltenders Cayden Primeau and Michael McNiven were also recalled.
All players except McNiven have at least one game of NHL experience.
Club de hockey Canadien
The Laval Rocket don’t have much more to play for. They clinched the division title last week. There are no playoffs to prepare for. They lost two games in a row heading into Tuesday night’s game against the Toronto Marlies, and were trying to avoid losing a third straight for the first time all season.
They came out with one of their best starts of the season, and were mostly in cruise control for most of their 4-2 victory over the Marlies at Coca Cola Coliseum.
The Rocket picked up where they finished their last game against the Marlies. After getting 60 shots in their overtime loss in their last meeting, they outshot Toronto 20-6 in the first period. More importantly, they were able to take a 2-0 lead.
Club de Hockey Canadien
With a division title all wrapped up after a dominant showing on Wednesday evening, the Laval Rocket’s goal for the few remaining games this season was to give their young prospects a chance to get their feet wet in expanded roles. On Friday that was especially true as Ryan Poehling had been shut down for the year with a wrist injury, while Alex Belzile remained on the Montreal Canadiens’ taxi squad. With Yannick Veilleux also suspended, the Rocket were down to just 11 forwards for the showdown with Belleville.
Joël Bouchard was going to lean heavily on his few remaining veterans in Laurent Dauphin, Lukas Vejdemo, and Jordan Weal to help keep the young lineup rolling shift to shift. On defence it was Terrance Amorosa drawing in as the seventh defender, while Michael McNiven got the start.
Club de Hockey Canadien
Laval was back in action on Friday night, just two days after their nail-biting 5-4 victory over the Belleville Senators in Ottawa. Originally scheduled to be a weekend off, the game kicked off a back to back against the Senators, and a chance for the Rocket to keep their red-hot streak rolling.
Joël Bouchard opted for a few minor lineup changes after the win on Wednesday, inserting Cam Hillis in place of Jan Myšák on the fourth line, while Terrance Amorosa replaced Jacob LeGuerrier on defence. In net Michael McNiven got the start, looking to improve on his stellar 6-1-2 record for Laval this season.