Bottom Six Minutes: The Laine effect

The Montreal Canadiens feel like one of few teams in this league that could find themselves on opposite ends of blowout games within the span of six days. Recipients of a 9-2 drubbing last Thursday, they took on a struggling Buffalo Sabres squad on Tuesday night, and mopped them with a 6-1 win. While it is tough to get too excited about a win over a team that had lost 10-straight coming into the game, there is no denying that the Habs showed some very encouraging signs in the win.

Not least of which was the power play, which is a completely different animal now that they have Patrik Laine around.

HATTRICK LAINE WITH THE MISSILE

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— Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) December 17, 2024 at 9:28 PM

This was the third of three absurd shots that Laine pumped into the Sabres net, all on the power play. He now has seven goals in his seven games since returning from injury, giving the team’s power play a bigger boost than anyone expected. He’s shooting the puck so well that the officials thought he had one at five-on-five in the first, but he had unfortunately pumped that one off the inside of the post.

Last season, the Habs scored zero goals with a two-man advantage, and Laine scored two in this game alone. He has changed things significantly, to the point where we’re no longer looking at minor penalties as a nuisance that do little more than kill time for the other team.

Prior to him rejoining the roster, the power play was as it had been for some time – Cole Caufield scores, or they don’t do much of anything. They have always needed an additional weapon to take some attention away from Caufield, and Laine has absolutely feasted on the opportunity to be that weapon. For Caufield’s part, he was content with two assists on the night, but when the focus of opposing defenders inevitably drifts towards Laine, Caufield will find himself with more open looks. They’ve created a monster that isn’t going to be easy to stop.

This game also proved why a dangerous power play is important. They played well enough to win this game at five-on-five alone, but special teams took them to the next level. They turned what could have been a close game into a blowout, and if they can do this consistently, it could be a key to them winning really close games more often.

This team isn’t ready to compete yet, but if they can have a power play as dangerous as this one when they are, look out. The Laine effect is clear, and though there is plenty of road ahead, management may already be wondering about how they could retain him beyond the end of his contract.

Click the play button below to listen to your full Bottom Six Minutes, also available wherever you get your podcasts. We’ve got a few days off now, but we’ll be back for the home-and-home with the Detroit Red Wings this weekend, starting on Friday night in Michigan.