It’s Time To Chat About Patrik Laine And The Power Play

 Heading into the season, he was put on a 4th line with Jake Evans and Josh Anderson, after failing to find chemistry at even strength with Ivan Demidov or anybody else within the top 9 forwards. With that being said, you’d think someone of Laine’s talent level would find a way to prove that he belongs in the top 9, but unfortunately that’s not in his game to be a true play driver, and the only thing stopping him from being a liability defensively is that he is playing with possibly the two most defensively focused forwards on the team. Laine has yet to show much of anything on the ice within the first 5 games, but he isn’t in a position to do so at even strength, playing with two players with very limited playmaking ability. This, however, is not the biggest problem with how Laine is being used.

On top of losing his role in the Habs’ top 9 forwards, Laine has been set on the Canadiens’ 2nd power play unit, which has not received much playing time, despite Laine being the team’s top power play producer last season. When the 5-man unit does get a chance to play the final 30-45 seconds of a power play, they haven’t been able to find consistent chemistry outside of Laine and Demidov. 

Essentially, the whole 2nd unit goes through Demidov looking to get a pass cross-ice to Laine after it became a serious threat during the preseason. Unfortunately, that pass is not available as teams have picked up on how to shut down that 2nd power play, as they have no other play drawn out for them. 

With the 1st power play unit not working well, could it be time to change things up to what exactly worked last year? Sure, many fans have mentioned that they would like to see Demidov replace Slafkovsky on that unit, but maybe the real move is that the Habs should switch Laine and Zack Bolduc around. Yes, Bolduc has one of the Habs’ power play goals, but everything around him has been out of sync. When Laine was in his office at the left circle, crushing one-timers on the power-play through passes from Lane Hutson and Nick Suzuki, the power-play was working much better. Even though he doesn’t deserve it with his recent play, Laine would be a good fit to fix things on the power play.

Right now, Suzuki is playing on the left side point area of the ice with Caufield by the left goal line, which is something that isn’t working for either of them. The Canadiens need to get back to exactly what was working last year, as guys like Caufield and Suzuki look uncomfortable where they are being placed right now. The power play will eventually cause the Habs to lose a game, and they need to fix it as soon as possible to avoid this. This is where switching Laine and Bolduc could be the solution to getting everyone back to where they should play on the 1st power-play. The option of switching Slafkovsky and Demidov as well is an option, but until the Habs make the adjustments to their system, it won’t ever work. Bolduc and Laine are both heavily reliant on getting passes. The difference is that Laine’s shooting spot is easier to set a puck up to, as there is less traffic. This is why Laine would be a better fit at the end of the day than Bolduc on the 1st power-play. 

Originally, I was worried about Caufield not getting his shots on the power-play, but the more I watch him, the more I realize he is less of a pure power-play scorer and more of an off-the-rush even-strength scorer, as seen from the 4 goals that he has gotten away from the man advantage this season. Not to mention, his actual shots on the power play haven’t been very dangerous. Therefore, the Habs can benefit a lot from having Laine back in his office, along with moving Caufield to the bumper, where he can serve as either a 2nd shot option or use his underrated playmaking abilities.

Also, who knows, maybe a few goals on the power-play can improve Laine’s game at ven strength due to confidence, as the issues are no longer injury or mental health. It’s clear that he’s only a blueline in terms of player and isn’t a fit long term with the Canadiens, but for the time being of having him in Montreal, both Laine and the team can benefit greatly from having his wicked shot on the top power play again.

Do you think Laine can play a role in turning the power-play around?