Kirby Dach injury opens the door for Patrik Laine’s return to Canadiens lineup

The season of injuries continues for the Montreal Canadiens. The team was able to overcome early-season injuries to Alex Newhook, Kaiden Guhle, Patrik Laine and Kirby Dach. All but Laine have returned to the lineup, but just when you think the Canadiens will be healthy for the final playoff push, the injury bug strikes again at a common target.

In the Canadiens 4-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks, Dach left the game in the first period with an apparent upper-body injury. The team announced Tuesday morning that Dach will be sidelined for 2-4 weeks, marking the second time he will be out of the lineup due to injury this season. With Dach gone, the door for Laine to return to the lineup has never been greater than right now. Zachary Bolduc will likely get the first chance at playing in Dach’s place, but if he cannot rediscover his scoring touch, we could finally see Laine make his return to the lineup.

Exactly why the Canadiens did not trade Laine

Going into this year’s NHL Trade Deadline, there were growing talks that the Canadiens were going to move Laine, with the Los Angeles Kings being the prime suitors. After multiple rounds of negotiations, a trade was never agreed upon, with reports suggesting that the Canadiens were only willing to move Laine if they acquired another forward to replace him. The Canadiens knew that the injury bug could strike at any moment and wanted to have extra bodies just in case a player went down for a prolonged period of time.

The Canadiens planned for exactly this scenario and may now be proven right for holding onto Laine. The team has envisioned itself as a playoff team since the start of the season, and you need extra bodies if you want to stay afloat if and when you lose a crucial member of your lineup. Montreal has its insurance policy with Laine; now it will be up to the team’s coaching staff to see if they want to reintroduce him into the lineup.

Laine can still be useful for the Canadiens

Everyone understands Laine’s shortcomings when it comes to his defensive game, but one thing he arguably does better than anyone on the Canadiens roster, minus Cole Caufield, is scoring goals. Laine was fourth on the Canadiens in goals last season, which is impressive considering he only played 52 games. He remains a valuable player on the power play, scoring 15 of his 20 goals on the man advantage. His shot is still lethal, and if the Canadiens can deploy him correctly, he could still be a valuable asset for the team down the final stretch of the season.

The Canadiens have 16 games remaining on their schedule, with long-time bitter rivals, the Boston Bruins, in town for a crucial matchup tonight. Only one point separates the Canadiens and the Bruins, who sit in the final wild-card spot. If the Canadiens lose tonight, that would be the team’s third consecutive loss. If that were to happen, it would become increasingly more likely that Laine would make a return to the Canadiens lineup.