Lost in the Montreal Canadiens’ tumultuous home opener win over the Seattle Kraken was the part Patrik Laine played in the game-tying goal. Of course, Ivan Demidov, who scored the goal, was incredibly impressive on the play, but without Laine, that goal would not have happened. When the big Finn received the pass from Demidov, he was too deep in the zone, and he had no angle left to take a shot.
Being a sniper, his instinct would have been to shoot now and ask questions later. Instead, he took the time to make a quick scan and saw Demidov, all alone in the slot. Sending him the puck back was the right play, and it resulted in the Canadiens tying the game and eventually winning it in OT.
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There’s no doubt that he’s itching to score his first goal of the season, but he put the team first. In fact, he’s been doing that regularly since puck drop in the opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs. If Laine could choose his linemates, he wouldn’t have selected Josh Anderson and Jake Evans. That’s not the type of players he’s used to play with. But the coach said he had to play with them and commit to playing a complete game, one on which he gets involved on both sides of the puck, and he’s doing it.
Against the Kraken on Tuesday night, he was getting ready for a faceoff in the defensive zone and was huddled up with Noah Dobson, trying to plan a zone exit. Laine isn’t used to defensive zone faceoffs, but playing alongside Evans means featuring in a lot of those, and whichever way you look at it, he's trying his best to do what the coach has asked him.
It’s not easy for Evans and Anderson either; they are used to playing a simple game with players like Brendan Gallagher, who play a much more direct game and are therefore more predictable. Currently, Laine is unpredictable for his teammates in the defensive zone, but he’s working on it.
Of course, fans would like him to have some goals by now; they want to see him light it up on the power play, but the fact of the matter is, it’s another adjustment he has to make. Being fed the puck by Dobson isn’t the same as being fed it by Lane Hutson; they need time to click, and I see no reason why it couldn’t happen. Laine’s got a lot on his plate right now, but he’s eating with appetite, and that’s what matters the most.
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