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Powerplay: Since Laine’s return, the Habs have gone from 15th to 19th in the NHL
Marc-Olivier Cook
Powerplay: Since Laine’s return, the Habs have gone from 15th to 19th in the NHL
Credit: Getty Images
When the Canadiens went to get Patrik Laine in Columbus, we all said the same thing.

The forward will be able to help the Habs on the powerplay.

But… in reality, that’s not necessarily the case. Anthony Martineau talked about it on Tony Marinaro’s show this morning and the numbers don’t lie.

Here’s what you need to know.

From October 9 to December 2, the Canadiens had a powerplay efficiency of 20.8%.

This ranked them 15th in the NHL.

But from December 3 (the forward’s return to play) to March 26 (today), the Canadiens have a powerplay efficiency of 21.5%.

There may be an improvement of 0.7% in the figure… but still: the Canadiens have gone from 15th to 19th in the NHL in this regard.

For a guy who was supposed to come and change the game…

(Credit: NHL.com)

Because the guys are always looking for the perfect game and because we often try to use the shot of #92, the Canadiens’ powerplay becomes more predictable.

But recently, we see some changes with Nick Suzuki installed at the top of the umbrella.

And that means Lane Hutson is often at the bottom of the offensive zone, which is not necessarily ideal for him.

He doesn’t shoot at the net, after all. And the passing corridors are less open if he’s installed there in the opponent’s zone.

It’s not really working, though, since the Habs have the 21st best powerplay in the NHL (20.6% efficiency rate) since the start of March…

I’m so looking forward to seeing what Demidov will bring to the table in this regard:

The conclusion is this: Laine doesn’t help at 5-on-5 and clearly, the Canadiens aren’t really better when they have a man advantage.

In this context, we can see that his usefulness becomes minimal on the ice… even if we’ve seen him give a bit more lately.

But it’s far from perfect, too, in terms of effort, since Patrik Laine, well… he’s Patrik Laine.

He may have the ability to score goals, but we can’t believe his importance in the Montreal formation is enormous either.


Overtime

– Good point.

– It’s true that it’s weird.

– Speaking of Marchand, his return is approaching.

– Wow!

– It would be a nice turnaround for Jays fans.

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