As part of the build-up to the first-round playoff series between the Capitals and the Canadiens, we will be looking at some of Montreal’s most important players to know…
Patrik Laine
#92 | RW
Height: 6’4” | Weight: 208
Born: April 19, 1998
Birthplace: Tampere, FIN
Acquired: Traded to the Canadiens for Jordan Harris in August 2024
Scouting Report:
A natural scorer, Laine’s greatest asset is his intimidating shot. He’s not a speedy skater, but possesses power and a long stride, and protects the puck well with his large frame and longer stick. Overall, skating has been a minor issue through Laine’s development but has improved with some help from his ability to read the game. Laine has the hunger to create chances on his own from the wing and actively looks for and creates opportunities to use his shot. His elite wrist shot is notable for its quick release and his powerful one-timer from the top of the circle is a constant threat on the man-advantage.
2016 report (via Elite Prospects)
Why You Should Know Who He Is: He’s the answer to the question “What if Alex Ovechkin was as limited and one-dimensional as his haters have always claimed?” and has a shot that can score from anywhere in the offensive zone. The Canadiens will need to ride great percentages to win this series, and Laine is one of the few guys that could drive positive percentages for them on the offensive side of the ice, especially the power play. He’d riding 17.2% shooting and while that’s definitely high, it’s not unrealistic that he can keep it up—he’s never ended a season with a single digit shooting percentage and his career average is 14.9%. The guy is legitimately dangerous with any kind of space in the offensive zone and will likely be playing with Demidov, potentially giving the Habs a second scoring line to challenge the Caps. If Laine manages to pop off, the series will get more interesting than Caps fans want to see.
How the Caps Can Stop Him: He’s heavily sheltered and still under water from a possession perspective. Hustle and battle have never been his forte. The Caps need to make him work all over the ice—obviously keeping him in his defensive zone is preferable, but even when they are on offense if you can keep Laine working on the boards it prevents him from finding soft spots in the defensive coverage to open up his overtime shot. The Caps can’t get caught watching Demidov stick handling or else Laine will find a way to make them pay. It’s gotta be meat and potatoes hockey against the Laine line. Realistically any of the three non-PLD lines should be able to handle this assignment, but if not then the coaching staff is going to have a more complicated line matching challenge to solve.