Patrik Laine is busy in the Vegas game as the center of Columbus’ first court. In the match that ended in defeat, he was involved in both of his team’s goals and remained positive in the power statistics.
Columbus Blue Jackets star forward Patrick Laine was seen last night in a completely new role in hockey’s NHL, when he played as a first-court center. Laine played as a center forward for practically the first time in his professional career in the Vegas match, which ended in a 2-7 away loss.
– He himself suggested that he could help and try playing as a center forward. Today we made the decision to try it, Blue Jackets assistant coach Pascal Vincent figured it out Columbus Dispatch (you will switch to another service) by.
– It went quite well, because this was only his first experiment. Patrik didn’t even have time to practice this, Vincent continued.
They played on the sides of Laine in the match Johnny Gaudreau and Cyril Martshenko (1+1).
The match for Laine, who was in the middle of the first court, didn’t go well, because he was the second shooter in both goals of his team. Along with Martshenko, he was also the only Columbus player whose plus-minus balance from the match was positive (+1).
Lainee, who played almost 18 minutes, also had a lot to improve, as she only won 18 percent of the starts in the match (starts 3/20).
– He played responsibly in the defensive direction. He also used the mid lane well to create momentum. It is natural that he still needs to polish some things. On the defensive end, he needs to learn to read the game better, assistant coach Vincent stated.
Vincent led Columbus’ game because the main pilot Brad Larsen was on the sidelines for personal reasons.
“I am super excited about this opportunity”
Laine enjoyed himself very much in his new place of play.
– I like it. It’s a completely different world to play as a center forward, but I liked it, Laine commented in an interview with Bally’s Sports.
– There are many things that I still need to improve, especially the starts. However, initiations are a skill that can be learned, and I am willing to learn. This could have gone much worse on a personal level, Laine summed up.
It can be read between the lines that Laine will be seen in the middle in the future as well.
– In the coming days, we will go through situations and reading the game. We don’t necessarily watch videos of what I do, but we also watch the games of the league’s top centers. I’m trying to learn. We look at specific situations, such as kickoffs. These are tough times, but I’m super excited about this opportunity to learn new tricks, Laine concluded.
Jumbo team Columbus’ next NHL game will be played early Wednesday Finnish time, when the Blue Jackets visit Washington.