Predictable powerplay: Pierre McGuire would put Patrik Laine in bumper position

Dose
Crédit: Patrik Laine scores goal for Montreal Canadiens against New York Islanders.

For several years now, the powerplay has been a problem for the Montreal Canadiens. Despite several good moments and a slight improvement last season, the Habs still finished the season with the NHL’s 21st best powerplay at 20.1%. Clearly, this isn’t good enough, and the Canadiens will have to find a solution if they hope to return to the playoffs in 25-26.

Obviously, we all think that with all the talent Martin St-Louis will have on hand, it shouldn’t be too complicated. However, it’s not always talent that makes a good powerplay, while strategy and tactics are also two very important aspects. And in this respect, it’s clear that the Habs became far too predictable last season with Patrik Laine on the right side of the net.

Pierre McGuire therefore raised the possibility of moving Laine to the center of the powerplay, or to the bumper position in the enclave. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI0F64Nx8H8 [content-ads] Pierre McGuire made this point duringa recent episode of the Sick Podcast, when he was Tony Marinaro’s guest.

For McGuire, it’s clear that it would be a good idea for the CH to play 1-3-1 on the powerplay with Laine at center, in order to make the Habs’ plays much less predictable. We remember that the pass to Laine for a shot on goal was made more telegraphed than any other play, and the CH had a much better powerplay in the playoffs (33% – 5 in 15 – 2ᵉ in the NHL), when Laine was injured and Ivan Demidov learned his place. The whole thing was a lot less predictable. In short, by being positioned as a “bumper”, Laine could still use his excellent shot on reception, as well as freeing up space for his teammates, given that he would be demanding a lot of attention from his opponents. Incidentally, McGuire would use Laine this way, regardless of whether he was on the 1ʳᵉ or 2nd wave.

On a first wave, here’s what it might look like: Slafkovsky Demidov Caufield – Laine – Suzuki OR Caufield – Laine – Suzuki Hutson Hutson [content-ads] Obviously, we want to see Ivan Demidov on the first powerplay, but I’m not sure putting him in front of the net would be the best option.

In short, Pierre McGuire’s solution isn’t crazy, and I think Laine could perform very well as a bumper with guys like Noah Dobson and Zachary Bolduc. Also note that McGuire said he’d be disappointed if the Habs’ powerplay wasn’t at least 24% next season. To give you an idea, if the Tricolore’s A.N. had rolled at 24% last season, the Habs would have finished 11th in the NHL in this statistic, just ahead of the Ottawa Senators’ 23.8%.

[spacer title=’En Rafale’] – Very cool!

– Good news.

– Wow.