By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
This was the one last big showdown before the Calder Cup playoffs begin, a chance for the Rochester Americans to make a statement against the team with the best record in the American Hockey League.
“This is why you play hockey,” Amerks forward Graham Slaggert said. “You want to play best on best.”
The Laval Rocket, however, showed why they’re No. 1 in the North Division and the AHL.
They play a heavy game, odd-man rushes are a rarity against them and they rarely make mistakes at critical junctures. Oh, and they have Amerks killer Alex Barre-Boulet.
And they proved again on Friday night they’re just better than the Amerks, scoring twice in the third period to turn a 2-2 tie into a 4-2 victory in front of 8,920 fans at Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.
“I thought we played very well, we were controlling most of the play, it’s just when we made a mistake, it was a big one and they capitalized,” assistant coach Nathan Paetsch said after the Amerks lost their third straight and fourth in five games.
As a result, the Rocket (45-18-3-2) have locked up the division title while the Amerks still haven’t clinched second place and home ice advantage for the best-of-five first round series. They either need a point in one of their final three games (home with Cleveland Wednesday and Toronto on Friday, then at Toronto in the regular-season finale on April 19) or need Syracuse and Cleveland to not win out.
But one thing is clear: the Amerks must improve before the playoffs begin. Yes, they outshot the Rocket 42-19. But they didn’t have an overwhelming number of great chances and poor decisions in the D-zone led to goals against.
Which is why they won just two of eight games against Laval in the regular-season series (2-5-1) and why they’ve been skating in place the past two weeks.
“They’re a really structured team and once they get a lead they’re pretty good at locking it down,” Slaggert said. “Those little mistakes that didn’t cost us during the season will cost us now.”
Like at 6:06 of the second period, when Laurent Dauphin was left alone in the middle of the slot to convert a centering pass from Barre-Boulet to break a 1-1 tie.
Like 1:38 into the third period, when a harmless play near the right wing corner ended up turning into the winning goal, as defenseman Noel Hoefenmayer took a pass from Dauphin in the left circle and fired a perfect shot over the shoulder of goalie Devon Levi and in off the cross bar to snap a 2-2 tie.
Or like with 3:48 remaining, when defenseman Kale Clague chose to help partner Erik Brannstrom behind the net, which left Jared Davidson alone in the slot and he fired home a Lucas Condatta pass.
“It was just a bad read,” Paetsch said. “It was a bad play to start it and then we left a guy wide open in the slot.”
Before the Rocket were scoring goals to break the tie, they killed off 1 minute and 54 seconds of Amerks five-on-three power play late in the second period.
The Amerks had four shots on goalie Cayden Primeau during the power play – three by Isak Rosen – but none required anything but normal effort to stop.
“We had looks, it wasn’t like we didn’t have opportunities,” Paetsch said. “If I could change one thing, I’d put Noah Ostlund (currently on recall to the Buffalo Sabres) on the power play.”
Ostlund has been missed, that’s for sure. He was the AHL’s Rookie of the Month for March and was piling up points at better than a point-of-game pace since February.
As it was, 42 shots resulted in just two goals, the first by Slaggert 16:24 into the first period for a 1-0 lead and the second an absolute highlight package goal by rookie Konsta Helenius, tying the score 2-2 at 10:25 of the second period.
He raced down the right wing and was one-on-one against defenseman William Trudeau. As he crossed the blue line, Helenius cut into the slot, turned his right shoulder inward to use his body to shield the puck from Trudeau and then, at about the right hash marks, flicked a backhander top shelf past Primeau’s left shoulder.
“That was a man’s goal,” Paetsch said. “That’s a goal that a first-rounder scores.”
The Amerks could not score again, however, and fell to 41-21-4-3.
“This game was fast and physical,” Helenius said, “and I think playoffs will look the same.”
Somewhere down the line, Amerks have completely lost their mojo. Last Friday they were humiliated by Belleville; then they bounced back Saturday to beat them. Instead of building on that, they played that stinker against the Sens on Wednesday and last night, as Kevin said, Laval was simply better. Thats 3 losses in 4 games; two of which were complete collapses in the 3rd period, at home.
The players and even the coaches must realize that things are not good. They are not playing well. They won’t ‘be all right’. They can’t play with every team..certainly not Laval or Syracuse. These last 2 games exposed everything thats wrong. Right now, Amerks are limping to the finish line and its rare when a team playing so badly suddenly flips the switch when the playoffs start.
I’m an unapologetic Amerks fan, so I strongly feel Ostlund has had his ‘2025 cameo’ with the golf course bound Sabres. He belongs back here where he can play meaningful games and perhaps prop up the sagging Amerks. Sabres know what they have with him, but playing extra games now won’t do diddly as far as any carry-over to next season.
But thats the Sabres. Thats why they have gone 14 years without pressure hockey in April. Can’t wait to hear the excuses Kulich will make for not wanting to come here to help us out. Hope I’m wrong, but seriously doubt it.
Amerks were outscored in the 3rd period these last 2 games 6-0. Thats no accident. Wednesday Levi kept us afloat for 2 periods. Last night was not a ‘Levi will lead us to the Cup’ night for him or his teammates. But he can’t do it all while the guys were making bonehead play after bonehead play when the heat was on.
If the playoffs were to begin now, the Amerk team couldn’t beat anyone. Until they fix what they broke. Talk is cheap. Time to show us with results, not excuses or empty speeches.