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20 goals in 58 games for Patrik Laine: Georges Laraque and Stéphane Gonzalez’s prediction

 DansLesCoulisses.com
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20 goals in 58 games for Patrik Laine: Georges Laraque and Stéphane Gonzalez’s prediction
Credit: Getty Images
Patrik Laine madness gripped the hockey world on Tuesday morning, when the Canadiens announced his return to action on social networks. Fans are already expecting to see Laine make an impact as soon as he returns to action.

At BPM Sports, as elsewhere, this was obviously the topic of the day. How could we miss it?

Georges Laraque and Stéphane Gonzalez made a bold but realisticprediction for the production of the Canadiens’ number 92 between now and the end of the season.

20 goals and 20 assists in 58 games.

20 goals is realistic, but Laine still needs to stay healthy.

It would be surprising to see the talented goal scorer play the entirety of the Canadiens’ last 58 games after missing nearly a year of regular-season hockey. But it’s not impossible.

And for the 20-goal mark in 58 games, it’s something he’s been capable of, even in his “less good” years.

In 2021-22, he scored 26 goals in 56 games with the Blue Jackets. The following season, he scored 22 in 55 games. He’d be able to do it without a problem.

What we’ll have to keep an eye on is whether he’ll play in fear of another injury. His knee injury was serious and happened because of his aggressive style of play in the zone. It’s a facet of his game that helps him to be dangerous on forward.

However, Laine will be playing on a line with two players who are really coming into their own these days. Kirby Dach collected just three points in November, and Juraj Slafkovsky hasn’t lived up to expectations since the start of the season either.

The good news, as Bob Hartley pointed out on BPM Sports earlier this evening, is that Laine will complete a very imposing line-up.

Laine and Dach are the Habs’ two biggest forwards at 6’4 and Slafkovsky is just an inch behind at 6’3. This could help the line to threaten opponents and create scoring opportunities through physical play.

However, we must limit our expectations of Laine. His return to action may well be slower than expected. After all, he hasn’t played regular-season hockey in nearly a year.


Overtime

– He’s got his work cut out for him in Laval.

– Impressive.

– He’s been excellent this season.

– The Blue Jays want to bring him back.

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