If there is one thing that we can criticize Patrik Laine since he played in Montreal, it is that he is terribly ineffective at even strength, and he is the first to point it out.
Obviously, this slight flaw tends to go unnoticed with the Finn's eight goals in nine games on the power play. The maverick breaks record after record, but his failures at five against five bother him.
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“It’s starting to get ridiculous that I’m not able to score at five-on-five, but everything fits at five-on-four. I’m going to try to ride this wave, since things are going well,” said Laine in an entertaining interview during the TVA Sports post-game.
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“We must continue to work,” he added. All the other trios are rewarded and it's great to see. It will be our turn soon.”
Saturday night against the Detroit Red Wings, he scored again on the power play when his shot pass to Juraj Slafkovsky was deflected behind Alex Lyon by Ben Chiarot. Make no mistake, Laine's intentions were clear.
“I still tried to score. I always try to score when I'm on the ice,” he said with his deadpan attitude, which made Dave Morissette, Maxime Lapierre and Antoine Roussel laugh a lot.
In a beautiful moment of vulnerability, Laine confided how much he enjoys playing at the Bell Centre. We feel truly happy and the results are there.
“I hated playing here as a visitor,” he admitted. To be part of the local team is pretty incredible. I don't have that many negative things to say. It’s been an exceptional experience for me so far, to be able to play in front of these fans every night.”
Let's say that his return to the game is a nice early Christmas gift for CH fans, Martin St-Louis and the numerical advantage.
