Canadiens needed Laine’s contribution in Seattle, will rely on it for final push
It’s a game Patrik Laine turned with one whip of his stick, and the Montreal Canadiens had to be thankful he was there to wield it after it was holstered for their last two games.
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It’s a game Patrik Laine turned with one whip of his stick, and the Montreal Canadiens had to be thankful he was there to wield it after it was holstered for their last two games.
On Wednesday in Seattle, Laine returned from a virus to revive Montreal’s power play, which had slipped into a coma just before his absence. His 12th goal on the man-advantage this season was their first in four games, and it was unquestionably his most timely.
Not just because it woke the Canadiens up in a game they were sleepwalking through to that point, but also because it woke Laine up at a time when the Canadiens need him most.
They’ve largely been a one-line team since returning from the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off, and everyone knows they’ll need to be a four-line team from here to the end of the season to not only remain in the wild-card race but potentially win it.
Though Laine doesn’t score much at five-on-five, his mere presence in the rotation helps vary Montreal’s attack. You have to hope that happens as he gets his legs back under him and gets back into the rhythm of playing regularly.
But even on wobbly legs, Laine’s mere presence in the game provides the Canadiens with a special teams advantage that can change outcomes, and it did that in the 28th minute of this game in Seattle.
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When the big Finn leaned on that tall stick of his and whipped his one-timer into the net, it cut the Kraken’s lead to one and turned the momentum. Laine then capitalized on this to gift Alex Newhook a goal less than four minutes later.
Laine told reporters at Climate Pledge Arena after the 5-4 overtime loss to the Kraken that without Jacob Dobes, the Canadiens would’ve left Seattle with zero points banked, and he was somewhat right about the young goaltender, who stopped 13 of 15 first-period shots from the Kraken and forced a couple just wide or high enough to strike iron.
But the Canadiens definitely would’ve left Seattle having not pulled a point closer to the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference had Laine not done what he did, and it should reinforce to him what kind of impact he can have — even in a limited role.
Laine would surely like to play more than the 10:18 he skated against the Kraken, but he can earn more with the kind of effort he put into his first game back from illness.
The Canadiens need him to.
They needed Laine to do it in a game they appeared to be on their way to losing decisively before he stepped up. It was their third in four nights on the West Coast, their second in 24 hours after beating the Vancouver Canucks, and they looked like they had next to no energy until he gave them some.
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Laine recorded his 15th goal and then his 11th assist in what was his 35th game of a season that started with him on the long-term injury list and has now been interrupted twice by illness. He’s been far from perfect when he’s played, but it’s not coincidental the Canadiens have collected just 24 of 60 available points without him and 45 of 70 available points with him.
With 17 games remaining, the Canadiens would love to have an even better version of the player than they’ve gotten so far.
But if Laine can just be the player he was against the Kraken, and the player he’s largely been when he’s been healthy enough to play, that would at least give them something they need.
Quick hits
• Another two assists for Nick Suzuki brought his totals to 17 points in nine games since the 4 Nations break. No player in the NHL has more, and Suzuki now has 69 points for the 69-point Canadiens, leaving him nine away from setting a new career high.
• Juraj Slafkovsky’s two goals were his 99th and 100th NHL points in his 183rd game in the league. When asked about them, he said, “That’s a nice thing, but I’d rather be in a playoff spot.”
Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis would too, but he still complimented Slafkovsky, who has accumulated six goals and 10 points post-4 Nations.
“Slaf is a young player who will have highs and lows, and he’s showed over the last two years that he’s able to correct himself and learn from his less good moments,” St. Louis said. “It’s not always failure, it’s learning, and he’s proven he can learn and bring himself up, and I’m proud of him.”
• Lane Hutson wasn’t proud of how Brandon Montour beat him off the set face-off play in overtime, cheating forward as Chandler Stephenson knocked the puck to him for a breakaway.
Hutson earlier became the first rookie to 50 points this season, but he said that didn’t mean a thing to him after the loss.
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