Big Comeback Win For Rocket On Friday Night

Habs’ top goaltending prospect Jacob Fowler got his 6th straight start for the Rocket on Friday, and while he did enough to get the win, it was clear all the consecutive starts are getting to him, as with backup Kaapo Kahkonen out with an injury, there is a lot of extra pressure on the 21-year-old to play. Fowler finished the night making 23 saves on 27 shots. It was solid enough but far from his best game. Despite looking tired on Friday night, it is announced that he will be getting the start again on Saturday afternoon, as the Rocket don’t trust Hunter Jones to play a game.

One player who had a big night for the Rocket but didn’t score was former 1st-round pick Filip Mesar, who used his speed to create offence, which led him to record 2 assists on the night. Mesar’s shot at becoming anything for the Canadiens seems to have passed, but he is showing this season that with his speed and skill, he could potentially be a solid middle-six forward for the Rocket if he chooses to stay in North America after his ELC.

Meanwhile, Sammy Blais, playing in the AHL, continues to be a huge boost for the Rocket, as the veteran put up a big assist on the overtime-winning goal scored by Marc Del Gaizo to continue being a point per game. Blais played his first game back with the Rocket on Friday after being sent down by the Canadiens following going unclaimed on waivers earlier this week. Blais has 10 points in 10 games with the Rocket this season and is looking like he could be a big piece if they go on another huge playoff run this season.

Roy opened the scoring early in the game with a partial break that allowed him to blast a shot over the Monsters’ netminder just 3:25 into the first period. With his goal, Roy would hit double-digits in goals for the Rocket for the 3rd straight season with his 10th of the season. As great as he has been with the Rocket, he just can’t put things together at the NHL level, and at this point, he seems destined to be a top AHL scorer for his career at the very best.

Only 22 seconds after Roy’s goal, Monsters forward James Malatesta would jam a puck past Fowler on a rebound to tie the game after the initial shot got the Rocket netminder to get out of position.

At the end of the period, Monsters defenseman Guillaume Richard would give his team the lead by shooting a puck through a screen that would find the back of the net and give the road team their first lead of the night.

Early in the 2nd period, the Rocket would run into penalty trouble as Florian Xhekaj would get a double minor for catching Richard in the face on the forecheck, and then Laurent Dauphin would take a penalty just a few seconds later to give the Monsters a 5-on-3. During that 2-man advantage, Luca Pinelli would bury the puck in the back of the net to extend their lead to 3-1.

Xhekaj would get his chance to redeem himself a little later on the power play as he would take a shot in the slot off a perfect pass from Owen Beck that would go off the crossbar and in to cut the Monsters’ lead to 3-2. Xhekaj was very noticeable for the Rocket, as he finished the night with a goal and an assist while being very physical yet again.

A few minutes later the game would be all squared up yet again thanks to Roy, who made a nice individual play to deke his way up ice in the neutral zone before sneaking a shot by the goaltender to tie the game at 3. It was a beautiful effort that Roy needs to show more consistently in his game but one that will surely be remembered in this game considering the win.

In the 3rd period, the Monsters would take another lead as defenseman Caleb MacDonald managed to beat Fowler with a wrister that the Rocket netminder would definitely want back. It wasn’t a weak shot that he allowed past, but it was one that should have been stopped by Fowler.

Luckily for him later in the frame, Owen Beck would score on his own rebound after his initial shot was blocked by a Monsters defender. Beck’s goal was a wrister that he blasted top corner to tie the game for the Rocket and send the game to overtime. This was Beck’s first goal in the AHL since November 15th, breaking an 18-game goalless drought.

During overtime, it was all Rocket with the big scoring chances, as they would have multiple opportunities to end it before Del Gaizo ended it off a great tic-tac-toe by Blais and Xhekaj to give the Rocket a nice 5-4 victory against the Monsters.

With their 28th win of the season, the Rocket extended their lead on the North Division to 6 points on the Toronto Marlies. As for Fowler, he picked up his 5th win in his 6 matchups since returning from his NHL stint to improve to 16-7-0 on the year with a solid. 912 save percentage and a 2.32 GAA. Fowler and the Rocket will be back in action at 3:00 pm ET on Saturday to take on the Monsters once again. You can listen to all games on our website by clicking here.

Are you paying a little more attention to the Rocket during the NHL Olympic break?