Series Primer: Monsters vs Rocket

After a bye in the opening round of the playoffs, Laval will get their postseason officially underway on Wednesday as they begin a best-of-five series against Cleveland, the affiliate of Columbus.

Schedule

Apr. 30: at Cleveland
May 2: at Cleveland
May 4: vs Cleveland
May 6: vs Cleveland*
May 9: vs Cleveland*

*-if necessary

Team Comparison

Laval
48-19-3-2 record
229 GF
178 GA
18.9% PP
83.2% PK

Cleveland
35-26-5-6 record
206 GF
225 GA
17.6% PP
80.2% PK

Season Series

Jan. 10: Laval 5, Cleveland 0
Jan. 11: Cleveland 2, Laval 1 (OT)
Mar. 21: Cleveland 3, Laval 2 (OT)
Mar. 22: Laval 6, Cleveland 0

Team Leaders

Laval
Goals: Laurent Dauphin (26)
Assists: Alex Barre-Boulet (41)
Points: Alex Barre-Boulet (63)
+/-: Dauphin/Davidson (+25)
PIMS: Florian Xhekaj (175)
Shots: Alex Barre-Boulet (171)

Cleveland
Goals: Luca Del Bel Belluz (27)
Assists: Rocco Grimaldi (41)
Points: Trey Fix-Wolansky (60)
+/-: Luca Del Bel Belluz (+6)
PIMS: Max McCue (122)
Shots: Trey Fix-Wolansky (192)

Head-To-Head Leaders

Laval
Jared Davidson (3-2-5)
Alex Barre-Boulet (0-5-5)
Laurent Dauphin (3-1-4)
Adam Engstrom (1-3-4)
Filip Mesar (0-4-4)

Cleveland
Trey Fix-Wolansky (1-1-2)
Rocco Grimaldi (0-2-2)
Ahcan/Del Bel Belluz/LaBate/Sillinger (1-0-1 each)

Monsters Players To Watch

Jet Greaves: The goaltender who nearly dragged Columbus to an improbable playoff spot is now back with Cleveland.  His .920 SV% was fifth-best in the AHL.  Cayden Primeau was one of the four he was behind but Primeau, of course, is now up with the Habs for the time being.

Denton Mateychuk: The rookie blueliner was nothing short of dominant over the first two months of the season, averaging nearly a point per game before a permanent recall in mid-December.  The Blue Jackets papered him down at the trade deadline to make him eligible for the playoffs where he made a big early impact with four points in their two wins over the Marlies.

Trey Fix-Wolansky: If there was ever a player who earned a reputation as a Rocket-killer, it’s him.  In 2022-23, he had 15 points in eight games against them; Laval managed to avoid him all of last year.  An undersized forward, he’s one of those players who is a high-end piece in the minors but hasn’t been able to put it together in the NHL just yet.

Projected Lines

Laval
Farrell – Dauphin – Barre-Boulet
Gignac – Beck – Roy
Harvey-Pinard – Condotta – Simoneau
Davidson – Xhekaj – Tuch

Engstrom – Reinbacher
Trudeau – Mailloux
Wotherspoon – Lindstrom

Injuries: Vincent Arseneau, Mark Estapa, Connor Hughes

Cleveland
Pyyhtia – Del Bel Belluz – Fix-Wolansky
Grimaldi – McKown – Pearson
Pinelli – Gambrell – Ahcan
Malatesta – LaBate – Brindley

Mateychuk – Bowey
Bjorgvik-Holm – Clayton
Richard – Svozil

Injuries: Corson Ceulemans, Daemon, Hunt Stefan Matteau, Owen Sillinger