Montreal Canadiens sniper Patrick Laine has been on fire since making his debut after recovering from a knee injury but his power play prowess is worth a closer look.
So far, Montreal Canadiens GM Kent Hughes is looking like a genius for acquiring Patrik Laine this past Summer. After spending the first couple of months of the season in the injured reserved, the big Finn has come out flying of the gate. Well, when the Habs are on the power play that is.
At even strength, he's yet to score, but the rest of his line is also struggling. Still, considering how productive he's been on the man-advantage it's hardly worth talking about. In nine game, the left wing has scored eight power play goals. How many other players have started their season with eight power play goals in their first nine game in NHL history? Only three; Yvan Cournoyer in 1970-71, Peter Stastny in 1987-88 and Jaromir Jagr in 2005-06.
Even more impressive, right now, Laine is second in the league for power play goals. Brayden Point leads the way with 11 markers with the man-advantage, but he's scored them in 26 games. Kyle Connor, Brady Tkachuk and Andrei Svechnikov have all got eight line Laine, but they've all played 33 games or more. Laine has got his in just nine games.
Better still, the goals have all come in December and there are so many of them that he's actually outscoring 26 NHL teams on the power play this month. Only the Winnipeg Jets (10) and the Florida Panthers (10) have more goals on the man-advantage than Laine this month.
Tonight, the Columbus Blue Jackets would be wise to stay out of the box, otherwise, Laine may just catch up to the Jets and the Panthers. The sniper's success has meant that Cole Caufield's goal production has dropped, but the diminutive right wing is not complaining, he's all smiles and wracking up assists.
He was held off the scoresheet yesterday, but before that game he had five points in four games, all assists. In 33 games, he has picked up 30 points which works out to a 72 points pace in a complete 82 games season. Should he keep that up, it would be the best season of his career by seven points. You won't see Caufield complain about the fact there are too many assists in there, it's all about the team winning.
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