Patrik Laine? Come on…

Think I'm too pessimistic? I'll leave the unshakable optimism to Marc-Olivier Beaudoin and Anthony Martineau. I'm just not cut from the same cloth as they are.

If I were forced to bet $1,000 on either team for tonight's game, I'd put my money on the Hurricanes… despite the heavily unfavorable odds.
It is what it is.

That said, my pessimism—which I'd rather call realism—won't stop me from watching the game. I won't turn my nose up at my team's playoff hockey. My team doesn't make the Final Four every year.

And the next hockey game isn't until four months from now!

Martin St-Louis needs to step up

We've just sat through three games where each new loss was worse than the last.

What do we all tell ourselves during the games? That the guys are burned out! They've been stringing together games the way I've been stringing together birdies and bogeys since the start of the Quebec golf season.

A technical director once advised me to make decisions that stand up to scrutiny when I'm coaching. Because when you lose, you can explain and justify the decisions that went wrong. In short, there are acceptable ways to lose as a coach, and there are less acceptable ones.

If Martin St-Louis loses a fourth straight game with the same lineup, when it's obvious the guys are lacking energy (and nursing several injuries), that's going to be hard to defend.

You've got Brendan Gallagher, Arber Xhekaj, Olivier Kapanen, Patrik Laine, David Reinbacher, Adam Engstrom, Owen Beck, and Florian Xhekaj who are fresh as daisies—or almost: you've got to dip into that pool of players to replace a few guys who are on their last legs.

Gallagher? I agree with Brandon Prust: let's use him. Especially since this might be the last game of his career…

Kapanen? He had his chance and didn't take it. Next!

Florian Xhekaj? We need to put him in. You have a better record with Xhekaj than with Struble, and his physical style could be a good fit against the powerful Hurricanes.

Florian Xhekaj, on the other hand, nah! He shouldn't be put ahead of Gallagher, and I don't think Martin St-Louis is going to take two forwards out of his lineup.

Owen Beck, David Reinbacher, and/or Adam Engstrom? I don't think they can contribute anything right now.

“What about Patrik Laine, Max?”

Come on! The guy hasn't played a single game since last October 16th. That was seven months ago! He didn't have any rhythm before; how could he possibly keep up with the excellent hockey the Canes are playing?

Especially since, officially, he's still injured… even though he's been practicing with the team for four months.

I hope Martin St-Louis brings in a few rested players and shuffles his lines. Otherwise, he'll look like a guy who keeps doing the same thing over and over, hoping for a different result.