Canadiens' second line will need time to gel after long absences for Dach, Laine

BROSSARD, Que. — Patience is a virtue, but not one that’s easy to come by for Kirby Dach and Patrik Laine.

They’re former top-three picks in the NHL Draft, they’re highly skilled and motivated players, and they hold themselves to justifiably high standards and want to live up to them immediately. 

So when Dach and Laine found themselves on the wrong side of a few goals against in Friday’s scrimmage at Montreal Canadiens training camp, their frustration was palpable.

Never mind that they both missed the majority of last season, or that they’re each coming off major injuries and only took their first official strides together on Thursday; they are two players who believe they can make a big difference for the Canadiens this season and don’t want to wait to show it.

“I think we’re pretty comfortable knowing that it’s going to take time, but, at the same time, we don’t want to just sit back and wait for it to happen naturally,” said Dach after Friday’s on-ice session wrapped. “We want to push the issue and work on things and skate together in practice and in scrimmages and make sure that we’re working on little details and understand where each others’ timing and spacing is going to be.”

It’s a process, and Dach and Laine are hoping that, as they work their way through it, they’ll find their footing, their execution and the chemistry with Alex Newhook that can give the Canadiens a second line that runs as effectively as the first one of Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.

Just how they’ll do it seems obvious to Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis, who put them together and intends to keep them together long enough for things to get sorted accordingly.

“Laine’s got a great shot and Dacher’s very good at transporting the puck and winning pucks back. Newy brings a lot of speed that can push teams back, he creates space underneath and is quick to loose pucks. Dacher, Laine — big boys,” St. Louis said. “I feel like they have great elements to complement each other and now it’s to get them more reps and as they missed a lot of time just to jump right back in it at this level, I feel I’ve got to be patient a little bit…”

The coach added both players need to give themselves a bit of a break, too.

The six-foot-four, 217-pound Dach was limited to less than two games last season after tearing the ACL and MCL in his right knee in a freak collision with former Chicago Blackhawks defenceman Jarred Tinordi. Meanwhile, Laine, who’s six-foot-five and 215 pounds, only appeared in 18 with the Columbus Blue Jackets before getting shoulder surgery and entering the NHL/NHLPA Players’ Assistance program. 

The latter is taking his first steps in the Canadiens’ system after the August trade that brought him to Montreal. He’s got to familiarize himself not only with Dach and Newhook and the rest of his new teammates but also with the style of play St. Louis has instituted, and that won’t be achieved overnight. 

Neither will Dach’s return to the level he was displaying before going down with the injuries that put him under the knife last October.

To be the play-driving, puck-stealing best version of himself will be more than just a physical challenge, and he knows it.

Dach also knows the next two-and-a-half weeks of training camp give him the runway he needs to get up to speed.

“I feel good, kind of just shaking the rust off a little bit,” he said. “It’ll be nice to get into some pre-season games and continue to take steps each and every day and just focus on getting better and feeling good before the season comes around.”

When it begins in early October, Newhook feels the line will have what it takes to turn heads.

On Friday, the 23-year-old was talking about Dach and Laine as game-breakers, vaunting Dach’s playmaking ability and Laine’s chops proven scorer in the league. He also acknowledged that both they, and he, are out to prove themselves for different reasons.

Laine, who was taken second overall behind Auston Matthews in the 2016 Draft, had just six goals and nine points last season and said when he was acquired by the Canadiens that he wasn’t just angling to return to being a 30-goal scorer, but that he wanted to get back to scoring 40-50.

Dach appeared ready to bust out last fall and build on a solid first season with the Canadiens that saw him score 14 goals and 38 points in 58 games. He began to reach the massive potential everyone thought he possessed when he was taken third overall in the 2019 Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks and he wants to show that he can take the next step.

And Newhook is planning to take another step in the promising development he displayed in setting career highs in goals (15) and points (34) in his first 55 games in bleu, blanc et rouge.

“I think everyone on the line has a bit of a chip on their shoulder and we want to prove something to ourselves, and to the team, and to the league,” Newhook said. “I think that’s a pretty dangerous thing to have when you have three guys feeling that way.”

Dach is convinced they’ll show it in short order.

You could see that he and Laine were both a bit perturbed about not displaying it as much as they’d have liked through the first two scrimmages of this camp, but cooler heads prevailed off the ice.

“You watch Slaf, Cole and Suzy (in Thursday’s scrimmage), and you can tell that they played the last five, six months of the season together and were kind of snapping it around,” Dach said. “It’s the kind of stuff we want to get to as a line, and it felt like it’s just going to take some time, and we’ll go step-by-step.”

St. Louis sees it the same way and isn’t concerned about what comes next for all three players.

“We know what they’re able to do and, with time and more repetition, we’re going to see their game improve,” he said. “Not just individually, but also in getting their game back inside the collective.”