Patrik Laine 's season has quickly reached a crossroads.
After struggling through the season's first three games , getting concussed with an illegal hit by Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson , missing nine games and struggling even more upon his return , the Blue Jackets gave the towering Finnish power forward a time out Sunday at Wells Fargo Center.
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Laine was scratched for the first time in his NHL career, as the Blue Jackets concluded a road back-to-back against the Philadelphia Flyers that began Saturday with a gut-wrenching loss to the Capitals for their eighth straight loss.
"I'm the one who knows Patrik the most," Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent said prior to the game. "I know Patrik the person and I know '29' the player, if it makes sense, and I know what he can do on the ice. I know his potential. And right now … I think Patty needs to take a deep breath, go back to the working lab and get his touches back, get his shot back, get his confidence back so he can be the Patrik, the number 29 Patrik Laine, we all know he can be."
Vincent informed Laine of the decision and said it wasn't well received. Laine's not happy about sitting, but his coach had seen enough of his struggles to become concerned about the big picture. Since returning from the concussion, Laine has progressively scuffled in each game. He's fumbled passes, missed the mark with his own feeds, whiffed on shots he usually blasts to the net and made two costly mistakes Saturday night in Washington that led to goals.
On the first, scored by Alex Ovechkin , he got caught behind the Jackets' net with two of his own defensemen during 4-on-4 in the second period. Ovechkin, the NHL's second leading goal-scorer of all time, had most of the offensive zone to himself for an easy goal off a feed by Dylan Strome . The second goal capped a breakaway by Maxim Lapierre that started with Laine's turnover in the Capitals' zone.
Laine also struggled Tuesday in a 5-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Thursday in a 3-2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes — both at Nationwide Arena. He just hasn't gotten on track since the start of the regular season and is fully showing signs of frustration.
"It was a hard conversation," Vincent said. "But nobody … nobody ... not myself, nobody's bigger than the Blue Jackets. Not a group of players, and Patrik, we need the best Patrik Laine as possible. And for us, it's to get back on the ice, touching the puck, practicing, moving his feet, feeling confident, so he can be that guy."
Vincent went with one less defenseman than the usual 12 against the Flyers and brought Adam Boqvist back into the lineup as the seventh defenseman. Rookie forward Trey Fix-Wolansky and defensemen Andrew Peeke sat out with Laine, who spoke with the Dispatch about his struggles after practice Friday in Columbus.
"Hockey's a little hard right now," he said. "Obviously, some guys are playing really well, and some guys are not ... myself included. But it's not my first my first time going through a hard time. I've just got to keep working, believing and just try to get out of it."
Laine's offensive numbers are abysmal through his nine games, at least in comparison to his own standards. He has two goals, one assist, three points and a –6 plus/minus rating while toggling between his most familiar role at right wing and experimenting at center. The experiment with Laine in the middle worked great in the preseason, but that success hasn't translated to the regular season.
He's just not the same guy who was selected second overall in 2016 by the Winnipeg Jets , took the league by storm in his first four years and transformed into a point-per-game player with the Blue Jackets despite numerous injury setbacks the past three seasons.
Laine is the Jackets' second-highest paid player behind Johnny Gaudreau , making $8.7 million per year for this season and two more. He's well aware of the expectations attached to that kind of contract, but balancing them against the Jackets' 4-10-4 start while also trying to play without squeezing his stick isn't exactly easy.
"I wish I had an answer to this, because if I did, I would never struggle," Laine said. "I would never struggle if I knew what to do. It's just the way it goes sometimes. It's a hard league. You can't always play your best, but you've still got to find ways to dive in and contribute, even if your 'A' game is not there. You've still got to find ways to make a difference, and I'm just trying to figure it out right now."
Vincent wants him to just take a deep breath, recenter his focus and continue his effort to rebound by stringing together good habits in practices. Laine should also take comfort in knowing he's not along in being singled out this season. Vincent has scratched other struggling lineup regulars, benched Gaudreau and Damon Severson for the entirety of third periods in separate games and played a role in assigning skilled forward Kent Johnson to the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League.
He's trying to establish a standard of play for the Blue Jackets to meet, which Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen cited as something his team needed after firing Brad Larsen last season.
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How Laine's situation works out is up to him. It's unknown how he'll react to being scratched, but his attitude going into the weekend was set on digging his way out of an early pit.
"It just feels like it's never going to end," Laine said. "Obviously, it's only been a couple games (back), but it just feels like it's been going on forever. You've just got to keep working hard and keep believing in yourself. You've just got to do your best and that's the only thing you can do."
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets scratch struggling Laine for the first time
