Patrik Laine to be sidelined tonight

A few days ago, Pascal Vincent sent a big message to his star players.

Patrik Laine and Johnny Gaudreau were benched late in the third period. Not only did the team lose 3-2, but Gaudreau and Laine are the team’s two highest-paid forwards.

Today, Vincent took his sanctions a step further, opting to leave Patrik Laine out of tonight’s game against the Flyers.

And let’s just say the timing is terrible…

Horrible timing by Pascal Vincent to make Patrik Laine a healthy scratch for the first time this season. https://t.co/rnrPaBKTVr pic.twitter.com/mR397WDcdG

– Jason Gold (@JayGold85) November 19, 2023

Two years ago today, Laine’s father lost his life, and on his Instagram story earlier today, the Finn was keen to remind people that he’s still thinking of him.

No doubt he would have liked to play in his father’s honor, but Vincent apparently had other plans.

As indicated in Jeff Svoboda’s tweet above, Columbus will play with 11 forwards and seven defensemen. The match kicks off at 17:30.

The player who will be healthy scratch for the first time in his career has just two goals and one assist in nine games so far this season. The player himself is obviously not happy with the decision.

Yet he drew praise from his head coach at the start of the season. In an interview with BPM Sports in early October, Pascal Vincent said he was very impressed with Laine’s play.

I imagine he’s changed his tune since then. Let’s see if a game in the stands will teach his striker a lesson.

Laine is paid $8.7 million annually until the end of the 2025-2026 season.