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Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

Patrik Laine didn’t convince me

Originally posted on Dose.ca | Last updated Sep 23, 2025 12:05 PM ET

The Canadiens won their first preparatory game yesterday at the Bell Centre: Canadiens 2 – Penguins 1.All this in a shootout, to ensure an excellent show and reduce the waiting time for the first late-night subways. # Noteverything was perfect on the ice for the Montrealers, but first, Martin St-Louis had only eight or nine NHLers on the bench and second, the team already seems ahead of last year in terms of preparation. Martin St-Louis took the blame for last year’s slow start to the season; he must be happy to see his group more ready than a year ago.

Yesterday, we saw an involved Owen Beck (first star, one goal, four shots, three checks and two blocked shots), a first-pair Noah Dobson, a Jared Davidson with bite, a Jayden Struble who hasn’t said his last word (to Arber Xhekaj), a Samuel Montembeault ready for the #1 job in Montreal, a Jacob Fowler ready for the #1 job in Laval, an Ivan Demidov sometimes creative, sometimes ineffective, an Oliver Kapanen too inconsistent and irregular to play in the top six..

But we also noticed that Patrik Laine 2025-26 doesn’t seem all that different from Patrik Laine 2024-25.

We saw him cross the rink with the puck on his paddle… We saw him take one or two good shots… But as the game wore on, Laine seemed to run out of juice. By the third period, Laie no longer had a positive influence on the game. He wasn’t skating anymore, and his dekes wouldn’t even fool an M18 AAA guy.

Patrik Laine needs to have more to give the Canadiens. (Credit: Getty Images)

Patrik Laine, who was able to practice all summer in Montreal, promised us the best version of himself a few days ago. Martin St-Louis told us he was confident of seeing the best version of Patrik Laine. For the moment, we’re still a long way from the guy who scored 44 goals in 82 games in his second season with the Jets eight years ago…If what we saw of Laine yesterday is his best version, there’s cause for concern… I know, camp only opened six days ago and the first regular game isn’t for another two weeks, but we’re pretty much all in agreement: the performance of the second line will be a major factor in the Habs’ success (or failure) this season. Patrik Laine, Kirby Dach and Ivan Demidov all need to click offensively. However, Dach has been worrying me for two years, Laine is still worrying me after yesterday’s game, and Demidov won’t be able to do it all on his own; he’s too young. Let’s hope this second line finds its groove over the next few days. If Laine, Demidov and Dach have a good season, the Habs will make the playoffs and hope to do some damage . On the other hand, if the second line is offensively neutral – and struggling defensively – Montreal could be in for a long winter… If Laine and Dach don’t have a good season, it will at least make Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes’ decision-making process regarding the forwards’ future a little easier. #Autonomy

’Prolongation’

The Canadiens host the Flyers tonight at the Bell Centre. Expect to see Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Zachary Bolduc, Alex Newhook, Joe Veleno, Lane Hutson and Kaiden Guhle in action, while Laine, Demidov and Dach (??) will – if all goes well for Dach – face the Maple Leafs on Thursday or Saturday. Since Thursday’s game will be played at the Bell Centre and Saturday’s in Toronto, I think Dach will play in Montreal. Stay tuned.

This article first appeared on Dose.ca and was syndicated with permission.

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