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Patrik Laine with Suzuki and Caufield: Tony Marinaro’s proposal
Mathis Therrien
Patrik Laine with Suzuki and Caufield: Tony Marinaro’s proposal
Credit: Getty Images
It really was pleasant while it lasted.

The Montreal Canadiens treated us to a remarkable stretch for a month, specifically between December 17 and January 21, which now appears to us as a mere anomaly in the CH’s season.

Indeed, Martin St-Louis’s team is unfortunately back to the CH of November, a CH that is not performing well and still seems to be the worst team on the ice.

It’s no wonder the Tricolor has only one victory in its last seven games.

Nothing is working, and this is costing the beautiful playoff run that the CH had miraculously joined a few weeks ago.

In short, if the CH doesn’t find a way to turn things around very soon, we can truly say goodbye to the mix and say hello again to Tankathon.

Obviously, since nothing is working, there are a variety of solutions that might potentially help the CH at this time.

However, one particular proposal caught my attention, and it comes from Tony Marinaro.

He suggests placing Patrik Laine on the first line alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.

At first glance, considering that Laine has been playing very poorly for a few games, it wouldn’t really be a good idea to give him a promotion.

Let’s say it would send the wrong message to the rest of the locker room, and above all, it could hurt Suzuki and Caufield even more.

But when we think about it a bit more, it wouldn’t be crazy to put the CH’s best sniper (Laine) and the best playmaker of the CH (Suzuki) together.

Laine has never played with Suzuki and Caufield, so perhaps this would help to re-motivate him and produce more at five-on-five.

And obviously, if Laine finds his game, well, the first line would also be rejuvenated.

Thus, we could potentially solve two problems with a change in the lineup.

Furthermore, by placing Laine on the first line, well, Juraj Slafkovsky would find himself on the second line alongside Kirby Dach, which could be interesting considering that both already had good chemistry together.

If even slightly the second line can help the CH, well, that would be even more beneficial for the first line, as it would relieve some pressure off them.

In short, it’s a thoughtful consideration that was mentioned by Tony Marinaro yesterday during the latest episode of the Sick Podcast.

Let’s see if Martin St-Louis will try to shake things up this weekend with two afternoon games in under 24 hours at the Bell Centre.


In Brief

– Michael Hage recorded two assists last night in a 2-1 victory for the University of Michigan.

– A well-deserved first star for Farrell.

– A great achievement for Matt Duchene.

– Really touching.

– A great addition for CF Montreal.

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