Mr Viral
Patrik Laine has not found the back of the net in his last six games.
He finished his last four games in the negatives.
After experiencing great moments at the start with the club, he hit rock bottom yesterday in Anaheim.
He only stepped onto the ice once in the third, while the Montrealers were definitely in search of a goal, finishing his work night with just over 10 minutes of ice time. This is the game where Laine was least used after the one in Columbus, where Laine had criticized his former teammates a few hours earlier.
Yesterday, the coach preferred to roll with three lines, leaving Laine, Kirby Dach, and Michael Pezzetta on the bench. Laine is still being paid $9.1 million in 2024-25… to score goals. Not to separate forwards from defenders!
If you aren’t putting Laine on the ice – not even on power play – when you need a goal, it means either you don’t trust him AT ALL, or you want to send him a BIG message.
What had to happen happened: the Canadiens were unable to get that elusive goal. After completing several spectacular comebacks in recent weeks, it was the CH that faced the remontada yesterday.
However, the question arises: did Martin St-Louis do the right thing by benching his highest-paid forward in the third? Nearly nine out of ten fans seem to think so, MSL coached well.
QUESTION OF THE DAY IN THE MORNING CLUB:
Do you agree with Martin St-Louis’s decision to bench Patrik Laine in the 3rd period? #question #morningclub #hockey #canadiens #stlouis #laine
— BPM Sports (@BPMSportsRadio) February 3, 2025
Gilbert Delorme – who is back from Florida – is part of this large majority.
What did you think of Laine’s game yesterday? #morningclub #ch #laine pic.twitter.com/r45bhlBKgB
— BPM Sports (@BPMSportsRadio) February 3, 2025
“In five-on-five, it’s f*ckall. It’s zero. Yesterday, it was pathetic […] There’s a sequence where he’s playing after the nails in the third.”
Anthony Desaulniers made a good point, though. I thought I was the only one thinking this last night. When you lose by one goal, just coming off four straight losses and your season is slipping away, Martin St-Louis may have had to use Laine in the third, if only on power play or as the sixth skater.
Spending 12, 13 minutes on the bench was already a strong message, right?
If the answer is no, why not recall an offensive forward and leave Laine in the stands for the next game? Or simply drop him to the third or fourth line?
Yesterday at the end of the game, I think leaving Laine (and Dach) on the bench and then giving a ton of minutes to Brendan Gallagher hurt the team. And the goal is to help the team win games…
Yes, I know, Laine was (very) soft on his coverage before the Ducks’ second goal…
Yes, I know, benching Slafkovsky helped wake him up (for a few games, at least) earlier this season…
But yesterday, the Canadiens may have lost THE game they couldn’t afford to lose. Martin St-Louis gambled, but he lost his wager. The young players on the team would certainly have liked to have Laine in the third; they all like him. I’m quite certain that Suzuki, Hutson, and Caufield would have all preferred to see Laine on the ice in important moments rather than Dvorak…
The team is gearing up to exit its playoff run. It’s important to choose the right moments and methods to hard coach. If St-Louis had won his bet yesterday, I would have had a different reaction this morning.
We’re just talking here, but I’m afraid Laine might either sulk or think that the coach doesn’t recognize his true worth. He is mentally fragile and we don’t know how his benching last night could affect him.
If I had been the coach, I would have given Laine some rope… and if he had used it to hang himself, I would have met with him today to explain exactly why – videos to back it up – I was demoting him to the third or fourth line for the game against the Sharks. Then, if that hadn’t worked, I would have done the same, considering the option of leaving him out, period.
But now, I’m not sure what the club gained by benching Laine last night.
Let’s just hope that Laine will eat the boards tomorrow night in San Jose and that the guys will remember the message sent by the coach in the coming years. #Culture #WorkEthic
To think that 48 hours ago, I was listening to the radio and they suggested putting Laine on the first line, not to bench him. Things change quickly in the hockey world.
In a nutshell
– To my knowledge, Patrik Laine is the first veteran Montrealer – along with Michael Pezzetta – to warm the bench for so long this season.
– Long flu, knee – frequently operated on in the past – possibly not 100% recovered from Cédric Paré’s hit, often harsh comments in the media, inconsistent effort. Patrik Laine is definitely a high maintenance player.
– Has benching Juraj Slafkovsky brought anything consistent in the medium/long term?
– The Canadiens will play their two games of the week at 10:30 PM Quebec Time. I hate that (and I wanted to write it).
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