Jackets’ Laine fights through his slump
Playing more like a power forward to end drought
There was a price to be paid, but Patrik Laine willingly forked it over on his second of two goals Monday against the Chicago Blackhawks.
After completing a jaw-dropping end-to-end rush with his third goal in two games, the 6-foot-5, 210-pound forward was dumped to the ice at Nationwide Arena. A sharp cut toward the net after deftly going around defenseman Calvin de Haan caused Laine to trip over goalie Kevin Lankinen’s left pad while tucking the home for a tying goal in the third period.
He went airborne as the goal horn sounded, twisted in mid-air and landed hard on his back.
Laine landed like a thrown sack of potatoes, but that had to feel better than his frustrating 14-game goal drought that preceded his goal two days earlier against the Blackhawks.
“I just felt like myself,” Laine said of his end-to-end tally. “I know I’m capable of doing that kind of stuff more often, but those kinds of plays, they don’t happen every game. I was just able to take advantage of it and show I’m still an alright player and I can make things happen on my own sometimes, which I guess that doesn’t happen too often.”
It certainly hasn’t happened enough for the Blue Jackets.
Following the Jan. 23 trade with the Winnipeg Jets that brought Laine and center Jack Roslovic to Columbus, the uber-talented Finnish phenom hasn’t lived up to his billing. There were flashes — sporadic launches of one-time rockets — but the only consistency in Laine’s game was tied to a stunning lack of shots and willingness to dominate as a power forward.
Few players in the world could pull off the kind of goal that sent Laine flying. The Jackets don’t need Laine to start doing too much, which could become a bigger detriment than asset, but they do need him to finding his inner power forward.
The past week was encouraging, starting with the Blue Jackets’ 4-2 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 6.
After smashing Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev on a forecheck in the second period, Laine drew a key penalty early in the third while trying to stickhandle his way between a pair of Tampa Bay defensemen.
One of them was Sergachev, who violently hacked Laine’s stick and sent him to the ice. Sergachev got a slashing minor out of it, the Blue Jackets got a power play and Max Domi scored to put Columbus up 3-0, all because of Laine playing a power game.
Laine has tried a lot of things to break out of his slump, from changing the tape on his stick blade to changing the stick itself — from Bauer to CCM — but other changes have paid off better. He’s now changing the launch spots and angles for those one-timers, including a goal from the blue line Monday, and there’s more willingness to pay a price for creating something.
“I think it’ll be great for him to go through something like this,” general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. “Adversity builds character, I always say that, and he’s been frustrated. He’s been working hard. He’s been trying hard. He wants to be good. He wants to get better and this will be a great learning experience for him.” bhedger@dispatch.com @Brianhedger