A weekend completes itself in the AHL, and here are the standings. The Rocket’s two losses aren’t dramatic, but the battle is extremely fierce. Even Cleveland has slowed down at the top. It’s going to be quite a second half! pic.twitter.com/TLyHgdh6bd
– Anthony Marcotte (@anthonymarcotte) January 29, 2024
On Friday, Jean-François Houle’s men lost to the Syracuse Crunch… and the following day, they lost to the Rochester Americans.
But it’s not all bad news.
Even though the Canadiens’ training club has lost its last two games, the Rocket is still alive and well in the race for the AHL playoffs.
The standings are really tight in the North Division, and as Anthony Marcotte points out in the following tweet, it’s looking good for the end of the regular season:
The Rocket has racked up 42 points so far this season, and it’s the team’s positive performance in the last month and a half that’s most impressive.
We know that Arber Xhekaj’s arrival in Laval has played a role in the club’s recent success… But Arber was recalled by the Habs a week ago today.
So it was interesting to see how the team would respond without the services of the rugged defenseman. And Arber’s absence made itself felt over the weekend.
In all this, it was also useful to keep an eye on Logan Mailloux’s performance, as he was the rainmaker alongside Xhekaj when the latter was in Laval.
Mailloux can no longer count on the support of his great friend…
But he’s more than capable of holding his own on the ice: Mailloux has collected four points in three games since Xhekaj’s recall… And he’s now registered at least one point in his last seven games, which equals a record for a defenseman in the Laval organization.
It’s a fine achievement, especially as this is his very first season in the pros.
In gusts
– Wow.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell on his fourth-down decisions: pic.twitter.com/QGwk8n7ojh
– Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy) January 29, 2024
– Have you seen it?
I watched the documentary on Alexandre Daigle’s career on Prime Video. I recommend it. First observation: was he surrounded well enough at the start of his career? If the Daigle of 1994 had played in 2024, things might have turned out differently. https://t.co/lyJAbi6ytP
– Anthony Marcotte (@anthonymarcotte) January 29, 2024
– More changes at Kloten.
Beni Winkler, Kloten’s new assistant coach from next season https://t.co/TJxD4yE1oo pic.twitter.com/tr23OoT0uZ
– SwissHabs (@SwissHabs) January 29, 2024
– Whoa!
Jakob Chychrun with a 107.1 MPH ROCKET to win the Sens’ hardest shot contest
Via @Senators pic.twitter.com/lUFzKp6LWv
– BarDown (@BarDown) January 29, 2024