Patrik Laine didn’t convince me, part 2

On Tuesday morning, I wrote a text entitled ” Patrik Laine hasn’t convinced me“, inwhich many of you called me names, questioned my credibility, my intentions, my knowledge and so on. Except I’m going to tell you a secret this lunchtime: Patrik Laine didn’t convince me last night either. The Maple Leafs Marlies line-up was of very average quality – and I’m being kind – and the game was being played at the Bell Centre, in front of thousands of fans sold out in advance. We were entitled to expect Patrik Laine to be even slightly better than the man who finished Monday’s game on the breaks. Yes, Laine scored a power-play goal on a superb pass from Ivan Demidov, but he also finished the game at minus-3, being quite invisible at five-on-five.

Martin St-Louis wasn’t the only one who didn’t have a great game with his second line; quite a few Habs fans could see a cohesion and involvement that was lacking in Laine, Dach and Demidov. No, they didn’t feel a sense of urgency last night, when even in preseason, we’re entitled to expect a minimum of general involvement.