'Joe Veleno is not comfortable on the wing'

Offensively, his production is non-existent. In nine games, he has no points, seven shots and a minus-3 record.

As Pierre McGuire says on The Sick Podcast, Veleno doesn’t seem comfortable playing on the wing right now, and it shows in his overall game.

Martin St-Louis’ strategy of having two centers playing on different sides of the fourth line is understandable, but yesterday Veleno was one-for-four (25%), so nothing convincing for him.

By comparison, Jake Evans was much more effective in the face-off circle, with a 58.3% efficiency (7 in 12) against the Devils.

The problem with the Montreal-born player is that we don’t really have room for him at center right now.

Evans already does what you’d expect Veleno to do, only better, so putting him at the center of the fourth line is out of the question.

In fact, while Veleno’s season-to-date performance in the face-off circle is good at 51.2%, Evans’ is better at 57.4%.

Plus, right now, Olivier Kapanen and Kirby Dach are doing well on their respective lines, so we’re not touching that.

And, need I mention Nick Suzuki?

St-Louis will have to find a solution and possibly reshuffle his third and fourth trios to find the right chair for Veleno.

Shaking things up a bit could also help players like Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson, for whom it’s been more difficult in recent games.

Let’s hope the Habs coach can find a good combination for his forward lines, as Patrik Laine isn’t about to make a comeback.

Overtime

– He really takes the team to heart.

– A beautiful gesture.

– Bravo!

– He won his bet.

– Sad news.