Another solid game from David Reinbacher in a crucial Rocket win

Last night, while Jacob Fowler was putting on quite a performance in the NCAA Hockey East conference final against Boston University and Lane Hutson, the Laval Rocket were playing a game of vital importance.

The Montreal Canadiens’ training club faced the Belleville Senators for the second time in two nights.

The Senators are Laval’s direct rival in the playoff race, so the Rocket needed two wins in two games to keep their playoff hopes alive.

On Friday, as I’m sure you all saw, the Rocket won 3-2 in overtime in a game marked by David Reinbacher’s first goal in his very first game.

And yesterday, the Rocket had to win again, in regulation time, without giving up a point to the Senators.

Well, that’s exactly what the Rocket did, winning 3-2 in regulation time.

Final score
Final score pic.twitter.com/WV8YchLD2K

– Rocket de Laval (@RocketLaval) March 24, 2024

It’s a huge victory for the Rocket, whose four points in Belleville put them ahead of the Senators for the fifth and final playoff spot.

Unfortunately, Belleville still has a game in hand, but the Rocket is ahead in the standings because it has more regulation-time wins, a statistic that can be seen in the “RW” column.

Of the ten games remaining in the Rocket’s season, Laval will face Belleville four more times.

That’s four huge points for the Rocket in the last two days.

Is this the David Reinbacher effect?

The 19-year-old defenseman had another solid game for the Rocket(despite a somewhat difficult first period), looking good in virtually every one of his appearances, demonstrating great intelligence and physical strength.

Moreover, Reinbacher didn’t shy away from handling Senators players, including none other than tough guy Bokondji Imama.

The Austrian defender then took the time to speak his mind to forward Oskar Pettersson during a scrum in front of Jakub Dobes’ net.

Reinbacher once again found his place in this match, and he didn’t seem at all overwhelmed by events and the pace of the game – quite the opposite, in fact.

In short, arriving at the age of 19 and playing like this on a North American rink, which is smaller than what he’s used to in Europe, is pretty impressive.

I know it’s only two games and we can’t really draw many conclusions, but all the same, to solidify the team’s defense so quickly and especially in two games so important to the playoffs, is very encouraging for the future.

This playoff race is far from over and remains extremely tight in the North Division, with all teams still alive.

Because yes, let’s not forget the Utica Comets, who have two games in hand on the Rocket and are only three points behind.

By the way, the Rocket takes on the Comets next Wednesday in Utica, starting at 7pm.

It’s another extremely important game that the Rocket must win once again.

The Rocket will also be in action today against the Marlies in Toronto, starting at 4pm.

It’s another crucial game that Laval must win, but it won’t be easy, given that Jean-François Houle’s troupe will be playing a third game in three days.

It will be interesting to see whether J.-F. Houle makes any changes to his line-up, such as inserting Mattias Norlinder into the line-up to give David Reinbacher a rest.

It’s a game not to be missed this afternoon.

Also worth watching are the following two games:

• Belleville Senators vs Hartford Wolf Pack at 2 p.m.
• Utica Comets vs. Rochester Americans at 3:05 p.m.

We have to hope that the Senators lose in regulation time and that the game between the Comets and Americans doesn’t go into overtime, because we don’t want to see two direct rivals of the Rocket get points.

In a gust

– Read more.

– Sainz wins in Australia, while Max Verstappen fails to finish the race.

– No series for the Remparts this year.

– The Canucks are playing some excellent hockey.

– The Wild aren’t good enough for the playoffs.