Player Discussion Patrik Laine: ruining the tank

[AlainVigneaultsGum]

Man I love this player

 

[Habsfan18]

I'm probably reading way too much into it, but I just hope when he said he "personally felt terrible out there" he was just referring to rust and not his actual knee. He looked pretty damn good out there to me, all considering.

And he obviously still has that absolute LASER. Just as advertised.

 

[morhilane]

I'm probably reading way too much into it, but I just hope when he said he "personally felt terrible out there" he was just referring to rust and not his actual knee. He looked pretty damn good out there to me, all considering.

And he obviously still has that absolute LASER. Just as advertised.

He was talking about rust. Anderson said that after the 1st period Laine was saying he only had 30 seconds of energy left.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

The hallmark of BPD are manic or hypomanic episodes which aren't related to being focused or passionate about something, rather its a symptom. The depressions aren't related to what they can't put focus on either.

I used the word "CAN", which means that it is conditional. I already covered manic or hypomanic when I started my post with the "highs are too high..." and that was what I referred to as the hallmark.

If you go to a follow-up post, you'll see that the hallmark i refered too was exactly the manic and hypomanic episodes again, as I state it directly, not the passionate or whatever. I was simply referring to situations where they are passionate. And yes, focus on something can drive the manic episodes.

Useless reply.

 

[River Meadow]

 

[Andy]

Laine could be Kovalev all over again. If there is one market in the nhl that will make him want to be the star and play every game, it's Montreal.

I hope he realizes how much love he can get in this city if he brings it every single night. No one on the habs has his potential.

 

[HomaridII]

Laine could be Kovalev all over again. If there is one market in the nhl that will make him want to be the star and play every game, it's Montreal.

I hope he realizes how much love he can get in this city if he brings it every single night. No one on the habs has his potential.

If he didn't realize it before, he knows after last night.

The Bell Centre is loud, but ovations like last night are reserved for the most special of stars.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

I thought it was Newhook for a second

Looks like John Mulaney had a child with one of the Property Bros.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

I'm probably reading way too much into it, but I just hope when he said he "personally felt terrible out there" he was just referring to rust and not his actual knee. He looked pretty damn good out there to me, all considering.

And he obviously still has that absolute LASER. Just as advertised.

He said it in one of the mid game interviews too. Definitely the rust.

 

[Naslundforever]

Maybe he knows a guy who can play center.

His footspeed surprized me last night wtf. Getting on the forecheck 2 full strides ahead of Slaf, then back checking ahead of Dach… Was really not impressed with the kids, but wow Laine looked good.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

Laine is a game changer. This team is in a different spot with a healthy Laine from the start imo. I love the Slaf/Dach/Laine combination. If Dach can’t get going there then he’s in trouble.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

It’s great that he got one in his first game. My big worry with him was that after coming off injuries and mental health issues that he might come out of the gate slow and then spiral - a lot like what’s happening to Dach right now. Him getting that goal really helps.

He was a little rusty last night but his shot was great - a good sign considering his shoulder injury- and you can see the talent. Hopefully this move pays off.

 

[ThirdPeriodTurtle]

Great game by Laine overall. He looked very engaged, especially in the first period. That power play unit looked super dangerous, not just Laine, it felt like whoever has the puck can make a play that creates a goal. Love the crowd reaction. Looks like Laine has found a home.

Just a little word of warning though, "free zone entry" and "great at dangling guys" are probably not going to last. I think he got a bit lucky against NYI. He almost lost the puck in the most noticeable zone entry but regained possession after to keep it. That won't always happen... In the past couple of years he's wanted to do all that but more often than not he ends up losing the puck at the offensive blue line. Everything else could work out well but might be better to temper your expectations a bit with those zone entries.

 

[That Habs Fan]

I've been watching the Habs since 84 (only really remember 91 and later) and I can count the number of players with Laine's combination of skill and size on one hand and still have fingers remaining.

If he can stay healthy he'll be our best scorer in a very long time. I won't say best player because Price was special.

Even if he doesn't use his size like Lindros (and he obviously doesn't, but he did throw a few checks last game) being able to absorb hits/being hard to move/having a long reach to use are undervalued aspects of having size.

 

[schwang26]

I’m not a fan of him playing in the tournament so soon after getting back. Especially if there’s questions whether he should’ve had surgery. Just because he opted not to doesn’t mean he doesn’t need it.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

I've been watching the Habs since 84 (only really remember 91 and later) and I can count the number of players with Laine's combination of skill and size on one hand and still have fingers remaining.

If he can stay healthy he'll be our best scorer in a very long time. I won't say best player because Price was special.

He's got some ways to go to score as much as Caufield.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

Great game by Laine overall. He looked very engaged, especially in the first period. That power play unit looked super dangerous, not just Laine, it felt like whoever has the puck can make a play that creates a goal. Love the crowd reaction. Looks like Laine has found a home.

Just a little word of warning though, "free zone entry" and "great at dangling guys" are probably not going to last. I think he got a bit lucky against NYI. He almost lost the puck in the most noticeable zone entry but regained possession after to keep it. That won't always happen... In the past couple of years he's wanted to do all that but more often than not he ends up losing the puck at the offensive blue line. Everything else could work out well but might be better to temper your expectations a bit with those zone entries.

He definitely did get lucky on a few of his solo puck carries, I won't be expecting those with any sort of regularity going forward. I got a small panic attack each time he got past a defender anyway, but I guess the preseason PTSD will take some time to go away

 

[That Habs Fan]

He's got some ways to go to score as much as Caufield.

I love Caufield, but Laine scored 44-26-70 in his 2nd year.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

I love Caufield, but Laine scored 44-26-70 in his 2nd year.

Which was a long time ago. Pre injury Caufield had 48 goals in 83 games and he's again pacing around 50 goals (16 in 25). There's a good chance Caufield will eclipse Laine's best goalscoring season he had like 5 years ago and never repeated.

 

[BB88]

Which was a long time ago. Pre injury Caufield had 48 goals in 83 games and he's again pacing around 50 goals (16 in 25). There's a good chance Caufield will eclipse Laine's best goalscoring season he had like 5 years ago and never repeated.

When Laine scored that he was 2nd in Rocket race

The scoring has gone way up since then

 

[VT]

Great game by Laine overall. He looked very engaged, especially in the first period. That power play unit looked super dangerous, not just Laine, it felt like whoever has the puck can make a play that creates a goal. Love the crowd reaction. Looks like Laine has found a home.

Just a little word of warning though, "free zone entry" and "great at dangling guys" are probably not going to last. I think he got a bit lucky against NYI. He almost lost the puck in the most noticeable zone entry but regained possession after to keep it. That won't always happen... In the past couple of years he's wanted to do all that but more often than not he ends up losing the puck at the offensive blue line. Everything else could work out well but might be better to temper your expectations a bit with those zone entries.

Or this a beautiful pass backwards in the DZ. Dach probably advised him to take it.

If without jokes there was a game after his concussion where he passed to teammates to transition and did it great, as he can navigate in narrow spaces (don't know if it is right in English) and can pass quickly. That's why Martin St. Louis should have a thorough talk with him.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

When Laine scored that he was 2nd in Rocket race

The scoring has gone way up since then

And Laine's scoring has gone way down, but yeah, we should bank on the player whose scoring has dwindled while scoring has gone up league wide, to outscore the player who has scored at a higher pace (than Laine's best season) for 2 of the last 3 seasons. 2 out of 3 because he had surgery. Otherwise Caufield might already be a 45 goalscorer.

Banking on Laine to become our best goalscorer is expecting too much. I live Laine, but people are acting like irrational fanboys.

In all likelyhood, he'll be our second best goalscorer, and that's not bad at all.

 

[BB88]

And Laine's scoring has gone way down, but yeah, we should bank on the player whose scoring has dwindled while scoring has gone up league wide, to outscore the player who has scored at a higher pace (than Laine's best season) for 2 of the last 3 seasons. 2 out of 3 because he had surgery. Otherwise Caufield might already be a 45 goalscorer.

Banking on Laine to become our best goalscorer is expecting too much. I live Laine, but people are acting like irrational fanboys.

In all likelyhood, he'll be our second best goalscorer, and that's not bad at all.

My point wasn’t to start a massive argument or anything like that

Just to remind that he scored 44 in a very different era to todays

& if we want to go there Laine was Columbus best player for few years, he just played with zero stars and neither he or Caufield are players you can build around a winner. Neither can be the best player on that team, Caufiel would have never gotten close to 45 on that tire fire either. He’d have been lucky to hit 30

My hope for Laine is that he gets even back to ppg level and plays a solid overall game on top of it, but there’s that small chance where getting back to where he’s at it’s best we could still see some highs that no other Montreal player can give

He seems to thrive under pressure, in places where people breathe hockey

 

[JT3]

Great debut all things considered.

I thought he played a lot like a center honestly. Was usually the one transporting the puck up ice, and was usually the first on his line backchecking. Also noticed him defending down low quite a bit helping out our d-men in what is usually the C's role. Wonder if it's something they may look at down the road when he's had some more time to get back into his groove.