Heading into the second round of the QMJHL playoffs, here’s the breakdown of the series featuring the eight remaining teams:
Rouyn-Noranda (1) vs. Blainville-Boisbriand (13)
A whopping 40 points separated Blainville-Boisbriand and Val-d’Or in the regular season, but it was the Armada moving on after a shocking, six-game first-round upset of the Foreurs. Now they have a second-round date booked with the Rouyn-Noranda, a team that just made Drummondville look like a Junior A squad during a four-game sweep.
The Huskies dominated the Voltigeurs, out-scoring them 33-4. All but one goal, a power-play marker from D-man Nikolas Brouillard, came from the home plate area. Simply put, Drummondville had no way of containing the Huskies.
Leading the way was their trade deadline prize Timo Meier. His playoff-leading eight goals all came from the home plate area, and only one came from behind the face-off dot. If Blainville-Boisbriand has any hope of an upset, it’ll have to force the Huskies to the perimeter and not let Meier have free range around the net.
After review, Timo Meier (@HuskiesRn) got his 4th goal in Wednesday's game @DRU. He equalized a league record #QMJHL pic.twitter.com/TMM7AX1Q8i
— QMJHL (@QMJHL) April 1, 2016
It’s hard to find many warts with Rouyn-Noranda after such a dominating performance. Despite the lopsided scores, the Huskies were outshot in two games but ultimately outshot Drummondville 123-105. It’s hard to read too much into the shot total since the lopsided games got out of hand and lots of penalties were dished out.
An upset you say?
The Armada should present a bigger challenge defensively thanks to better goaltending. Florida Panthers prospect Samuel Montembeault finished had a 2.63 GAA in the regular season, fifth-best in the league. The Armada as a whole allowed the fifth-fewest goals in the regular season with 201. The first round highlighted Blainville’s defensive abilities as they limited the second-highest scoring team to 15 goals.
But Blainville finished second to last in the regular season with 171 goals. They found a way to score 20 goals in six games against Val-d’Or, with a quarter of those coming from Philippe Sanche. Two of those five goals were game winners, including the triple-OT dagger in Game 6. He’s only 5-foot-5, but as Marcus Stroman says, #HDMD (height doesn’t measure heart). Half his season was wiped out by a broken leg, but his return late in the season injected a shot of offence into the Armada.
The Huskies won all six regular -eason matches between the two teams, but the final meeting on March 5 went to overtime. The Armada need lightning to strike twice in the post-season to continue their Cinderella run.
And the winner is…
Rouyn-Noranda in five
Shawinigan (2) vs. Charlottetown (9)
Sure, the Cataractes disposed of the Sherbrooke Phoenix in five games, but it wasn’t as smooth an out as the 4-1 series may suggest. The Phoenix stole Game 1—only the second time a 15th-place team has won a game since the current 1 vs. 16 playoff format was adopted in 2011—and Shawinigan entered the second period trailing in the first three games of the series. Loaded with skilled players such as Anthony Beauvillier, Dmytro Timashov and Samuel Girard, the Cataractes opened the floodgates eventually in Game 3 with eight straight goals to storm back and win 8-3.
Timashov was one of the QMJHL’s biggest trade-period pick-ups this season. (Judith St-Pierre)
Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Timashov leads Shawinigan in points with two goals and seven assists including setting up the double-OT winner in Game 4. Overager Alexis D’Aoust has five goals after only scoring two in his previous 11 playoff games. This is a Cataractes team that bowed out of the playoffs in a first-round upset against the Halifax Mooseheads last season. Having returnees like D’Aoust step up in the playoffs is crucial for this MasterCard Memorial Cup-or-bust team.
An upset you say?
They may not have been the flashiest names moved over the trading period—especially compared to the marquee names brought in by Shawinigan—but the Samuel Blais, Alexis Vanier and Jake Coughler trades played a crucial role in Charlottetown’s six-game win over Rimouski.
Blais had 12 points in six games including the OT winner in Game 2. Defenceman Vanier, in his first playoff since 2013, has five goals including the OT winner in Game 4. The San Jose Sharks prospect is looking like the steal of the trade deadline—the overager switched teams twice over the trading period and was acquired for a measly fifth-round pick. If theycan keep rolling, Charlottetown will be a handful for Shawinigan, a team with more firepower than Sherbrooke.
Daniel @sprong97 sets up Samuel @blais_19 to tie the game in the 3rd. @IslandersHKY #QMJHL @penguins @StLouisBlues pic.twitter.com/aeApRPtOMU
— Darcy Cudmore (@DarcyCudmore) April 3, 2016
Charlottetown also has a goalie who can steal games. Mason McDonald’s hot stretch to close out the season has continued into the playoffs. He’s sporting a GAA of 2.72 and save percentage of .920. He faced 40 or more shots four times in the first round, winning three of those games.
On the other side, Philippe Cadorette is a grizzled playoff veteran, recording his 42nd career playoff win last round. He’s rolling with a 1.96 GAA and a .926 save percentage and this series could come down to which goalie steals more games.
And the winner is…
Shawinigan in six
Saint John (3) vs. Cape Breton (7)
The Sea Dogs once again face a divisional foe after knocking off the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in five games. Outside of a Game 4, four-goal explosion from draft-eligible forward Daniil Miromanov, the Sea Dogs were in control the entire series.
The series win did come at a high cost when Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Mathieu Joseph left via stretcher after a serious cut to his calf muscle. He’ll be out of action for two-to-three months, essentially ending his season. He was off to a torrid start, scoring five goals and seven points, highlighted by a Game 3 hat-trick. This hurts Saint John on both sides of the puck; Joseph is one of the league’s top two-way players and was a finalist for the QMJHL’s Guy Carbonneau Trophy for best defensive forward.
On the plus side, Luke Green returned in Game 5. He was injured late in the season thanks to a hit from Cape Breton’s Pierre-Luc Dubois, who received a two-game ban for the infraction. One of Green’s biggest assignments, along with partner Matt Murphy, will be to shut down Dubois in this series.
In eight regular-season games, Saint John had a 6-3-0 record against Cape Breton, with two of those losses coming in the final two games of the regular season.
An upset you say?
Only eight points separated the Maritimes Division teams in the standings. The Screaming Eagles are an experienced group built to win now and will give Saint John far more trouble than the rebuilding Titan. Dubois is one of the most dynamic players in the league and has seen his stock continue to sky-rocket throughout his draft-eligible season.
After being split up towards the end of the season, the potent line of Dubois-Lazarev-Svechnikov made its return in the post-season. Dubois was suspended in Game 1, but the two Russians finished the series with 10 points apiece. After four close games to start the series against Chicoutimi, Cape Breton rolled through the last two wins by scores of 4-0 and 7-4.
Captain Clark Bishop has been day-to-day with a lower body injury sustained in Game 1. He inked an entry-level contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday so he won’t re-enter the NHL Draft this year.
And the winner is…
Cape Breton in seven
Gatineau (5) vs. Moncton (6)
The Québec Remparts were left powerless after a relentless siege by the Gatineau Olympiques in round one. The first two games were determined by one goal, but Gatineau kept pouring on the goals, shots and hits. The Olympiques are downright stingy defensively, allowing the fewest goals in the regular season and creating an environment where rookie goalies Mathieu Bellemare and Mark Grametbauer excel. Gatineau scored 16 goals, unleashed 145 shots and delivered 69 hits in sweeping the Remparts.
Gabriel Paquin-Boudreau set the pace for the Olympiques with five goals, three assists and five hits. Rookie Vitalii Abramov’s first career playoff game was memorable as he scored the lone goal in a 1-0 Game 1 win. He finished the series with five goals and an assist.
Rookie Abramov was fifth in QMJHL scoring. (Francois Laplante/Getty)
The Olympiques look like a well-oiled machine built for the playoffs, but face a much more difficult challenge with the Moncton Wildcats. Gatineau’s power play needs to be better after only managing one goal in 10 chances. The penalty kill on the other hand was perfect, going 14-for-14.
An upset you say?
The Wildcats have been a wild card all season. At times they’ve looked unstoppable, led by the league’s top point man Conor Garland. Other times, they’ve looked like pretenders. The series against the Victoriaville Tigres got off to a rough start with the Wildcats needing extra time to win both games. By the end of it, Moncton was rolling outscoring Victoriaville 23-16.
Garland is a shifty and slippery target and will need to evade the grinding style of Gatineau, particularly Nicolas Meloche, if Moncton stands a chance of getting through the second round.
Meier had 23 shots in the first round. Connor Garland led the Q with 37 shots in 5 gp. Only scored 3 goals though.
— Stephen Burtch (@SteveBurtch) April 4, 2016
Moncton has only been operating at half-Klima capacity with Kevin out of the lineup due to a back injury since early February. At the time, he was one of the top rookies with 50 points in 52 games. Kelly Klima’s production dipped with his brother gone, although he did have four points in the first round. It’s expected Kevin will return to the lineup in the series.
And the winner is…
Gatineau in six