Kevin Poulin proves to be a very useful insurance policy
On Wednesday night, the Rocket became the third team this season to beat the Comets in Utica with a 4-2 win. It was Laval’s second straight win against one of the best teams in the American Hockey League and once again, it was Kevin Poulin between the pipes.
The 31-year-old goalie was an insurance policy signed by the team before the season but with everything that’s happened in goal for the organization, he is now in Laval and has earned himself some big responsibilities.
Like we saw on Wednesday night, he is one of the many reasons the team is having so much success recently. With 25 saves, including a few nice ones, Kevin Poulin helped his team to grab two big points on the road.
“He made big key saves” summarized Jean-François Houle after the Rocket win against Utica on Wednesday night. “It’s obvious that Kevin Poulin kept us in the game. He gave us the chance to comeback and win this one.”
It’s not bad for a goalie who was mostly an insurance policy behind Primeau and McNiven for the Rocket early this season. Since the big club needed both of the aforementioned goaltenders, Poulin had the chance to prove why the organization trusted him for this role and he is running with the opportunity.
With the two other goalies absent, the Quebec native really showed up in front of Laval’s net. In six of his seven games this season, he gave his team a chance to win the game by stopping more than 90.5% of the shots he faced.
The only exception was a game in Texas in which he was far from the only culprit. To paraphrase the coach of the team, Jean-François Houle, after that game, that one simply got away from them.
If you go deep into his statistics, Kevin Poulin has a 92.3% save percentage this season with the Rocket. Among qualified goalies in the AHL, only four goaltenders are better, which shows how good he has been when his number has been called.
What is even more notable is that he put up these numbers against the cream of the crop. Four of his last five games have been facing a team that was in the top two of their division (Hartford, Springfield and Utica). That’s how he showed the team that he was ready to face any challenge that would end up on his plate.
During a season like this one where change is the only stability of the team between the pipes, there is no doubt that Kevin Poulin is showing how valuable of an insurance policy he is for the Rocket. He is surely among those who are responsible for the team’s good run and if this season ends up with a playoff berth, his contribution can’t be overstated.
