The Montreal Canadiens squeaked into the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs after being one of the hottest teams in hockey over the second half of the regular season. The team won six straight games before going 1-1-2 over its final four games, nearly letting the surging Columbus Blue Jackets clinch the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference from under them.
That skid seems to have followed the Canadiens into their first round series with the Eastern Conference regular season champion Washington Capitals. The latter own a 2-0 series lead heading to Quebec for Games 3 and 4, in danger of suffering a sweep after such a promising campaign.
When teams need to reboot and find a spark, head coaches can sometimes make some drastic choices. Montreal bench boss Martin St. Louis decided to sit one of his star players for an entire period in their 3-1 loss to Washington in Game 2.
Montreal Canadiens HC Martin St. Louis benched Patrik Laine for third period of Game 2
The unlucky fellow that got left as a spectator for the entire third period of Game 2 was forward Patrik Laine. The 27-year-old, acquired by Montreal in August from Columbus, saw zero shifts in the final 20 minutes of the game.
"They’re decisions you make as a coach,” St. Louis said of his decision. “I shortened my bench by a lot in the third. Honestly, I went with the nine or 10 [forwards] who I thought could help the cause.”
It wasn't an outlandish decision to make when you look at the numbers. Laine has just a single goal in his last 11 games played and finished with an assist and a minus-two rating after 13:14 of ice time in Game 1.
That being said, he led the Canadiens with 15 power play goals during the regular season but Washington goalie Logan Thompson was incredibly tough to beat in the first two contests of the playoffs.
It's unclear if Laine will have any more restrictions placed on him in Game 3 or another struggling player will be given an unwanted breather. The Canadiens' season could be on the line if there's no improvement on Friday.