Reviewing the Most Recent Lines At Habs Practice

One of the new lines seen at practice was a line of Zachary Bolduc, Kirby Dach and Patrik Laine. This line combination honestly doesn’t seem like the right move, as the line consists of Kirby Dach, who is still recovering from his knee injury, and two players who need a playmaker to play their best at 5 on 5. I understand the idea of splitting up Laine from Ivan Demidov as they struggled together in both their preseason games at even strength, but that didn’t mean Dach had to be brought down with Laine as well.

In fact, Laine and Dach together are likely something that won’t work in any way, as Laine relies on playing with a good playmaker who has speed or someone who can carry the puck up ice pretty well. Unfortunately, Dach is not at the point where he can be a guy to carry the puck up ice. Not to mention, Bolduc, like Laine, isn’t a play driver and is more of a shooter; he needs someone who can get him the puck.

Sure, Bolduc can be a guy who digs the puck out of the corner himself but he can’t be a great playmaker, and his offensive game is based on his elite wrister. It’s hard to imagine how this Bolduc-Dach-Laine line will work in hindsight, but maybe it looks better than it seems on paper.

Then the other new line seen today was Ivan Demidov alongside Alex Newhook and Oliver Kapanen. This line will probably work better than the previous trio, but it really isn’t the most ideal for Demidov, who needs a finisher so that his offensive plays lead to goals. Kapanen has yet to show any finishing ability at the NHL level, and Newhook is a very fast player but he isn’t much of a goal scorer. While true that Newhook and Demidov had some success with each other last year, it would probably be better for Bolduc to play with them so that they have a speedster, a sniper and a great playmaker on the line.

This is purely in a situation where Newhook and Demidov were to be put together; in reality, the line would likely be at its best with Dach, as he has more pure offensive skills, but lacks Newhook’s speed. We’ll see how this line goes with Kapanen, but as of now, it lacks some serious offensive punch. When it comes to Laine, he just needs a fast puck driver like Newhook, which is why Laine may be a better fit next to Newhook than Demidov in hindsight.

Tuesday night’s game against the Ottawa Senators will be a good test for these lines as teams will be playing more of their main roster.

What are your thoughts on these lines?