When you wrap up a five-game homestand with a 9-2 horror show against a team that has spent most of the season trying to find itself, you look for good news anywhere you can find it.
And there was some good news before Sidney Crosby and friends blew into town Thursday. The Canadiens won three of the first four games at the Bell Centre and the defence looked respectable. Sam Montembeault, who was mercifully pulled from the Pittsburgh game after giving up six goals, posted his league-leading third shutout against Nashville.
Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield continued to put up points.
And Patrik Laine finally had a chance to showcase his skills. Laine had three goals and an assist and also scored the shootout winner earlier this week against Anaheim.
After two months of inactivity, he still needs to work on his game conditioning, but you had to wonder whether the Canadiens would be heading into this weekend in last place in the Eastern Conference if Laine had been available from the start of the season.
And, while a playoff berth seems unattainable, you hope that Laine’s presence leads to some meaningful games in March.
Laine’s debut with the Canadiens was delayed after prospect Cédric Paré engaged him in a knee-on-knee collision in an exhibition game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The replays were cringeworthy. Laine was in obvious pain as he lay on the ice and clutched his left knee. Teammates Alex Newhook and Josh Anderson helped him off the ice. Laine angrily tossed his gloves as he entered the tunnel leading to the dressing room.
Laine had been tabbed as a key block in the Canadiens’ rebuild, but for a team whose trajectory over the past decade depended on the health of Carey Price’s wonky right knee, there was immediate speculation that Laine’s season was over before it began.
Three days later, the Canadiens issued an update on Laine’s condition. The injury was described as a strain and, after consulting with several doctors, Laine elected to rehab the knee without surgery. The timetable for his return was set at two to three months.
The decision was a gamble but it has paid off. Laine was back on the ice in six weeks and played his first game on Dec. 3, 66 days after the injury.
During his rehab, Laine showed that he was all-in with the Canadiens. Injured players often disappear during their recovery but Laine was present at team meetings, watched home games from the press gallery and accompanied the team on a road trip prior to his return.
Canadiens need a healthy Reinbacher: Laine wasn’t the only Canadien to suffer a knee injury in the exhibition against Toronto. Rookie defenceman David Reinbacher exited after he was checked by Marshall Rifai along the side boards.
The contact didn’t appear as violent as Paré’s hit on Laine, but the damage was more extensive. While awaiting word on Laine, the Canadiens announced that Reinbacher underwent surgery on his left knee and would be out five to six months. That means he could be back in March, but more likely he’ll return in time to join the Laval Rocket’s playoff run.
While Reinbacher has yet to live up to his billing as the fifth overall pick in the 2023 draft, Montreal may have been able to use him Thursday if only because he’s a right-handed shot. When David Savard missed Thursday’s game with what is hoped to be a minor injury, the Canadiens were left with one right-handed defenceman (Justin Barron) and five lefties.
The result was confusion and missed assignments. Savard was particularly missed on the penalty kill, which has been among the NHL’s best. Pittsburgh scored on two of its three power plays.
The Canadiens need Reinbacher to pan out because the only other legitimate right-handed defenceman in the pipeline is Logan Mailloux.
It will probably be several seasons before we know how good Reinbacher is because he has effectively missed two years of development.
Last season, the Canadiens decided to leave Reinbacher in Switzerland for a second season in Kloten. The thinking was he would be in good hands with coach Gerry Fleming, a former Canadiens farmhand with extensive coaching experience on both sides of the Atlantic.
The strategy backfired when Fleming was fired in November and Reinbacher had to deal with three different head coaches during an injury-marred and generally unproductive season with an atrocious team.
Reinbacher showed some promise when he joined Laval for 11 games after the Swiss National League season ended, but the knee injury was a major setback. If Reinbacher doesn’t develop, the Canadiens will be reminded that they passed on rookie of the year candidate Matvei Michkov to select Reinbacher.
It remains to be seen whether that was a bigger mistake than Jesperi Kotkaniemi being selected ahead of Brady Tkachuk in 2018.