Laine will return to Blue Jackets lineup against Blackhawks after ’embarrassing’ healthy scratch

The Columbus Blue Jackets are currently 4-11-4, with a recent record of 0-7-2 in their past nine games. This marks their longest losing streak since going 0-7-2 from April 8-25, 2021.

During a recent practice, sniper Patrik Laine, who has been experimented with at center, was placed at right wing alongside rookie Adam Fantilli at center and Dmitri Voronkov on the left.

Head coach Vincent emphasized the need for Laine and all the players to respond like mature professionals. He expressed his disappointment in Laine’s dissatisfaction, stating, “And I know he wasn’t happy. If he was happy today and he would say something different, I’d be disappointed.”

Laine, who has a total of 382 points (200 goals, 182 assists) in 471 NHL games for the Winnipeg Jets and Blue Jackets, was acquired by Columbus from Winnipeg in a trade with forward Jack Roslovic on Jan. 23, 2021.

Vincent, who has a long history with Laine dating back to their time together in the Jets organization, spoke highly of the player’s potential impact, stating, “If you were in Game 7 and you wanted a guy to make a difference, Patrik Laine was your guy. So it’s in him and we hope to see that tomorrow and in the future. We need him.”

Expressing the team’s clear need for Laine’s talent and presence, Vincent stressed, “We absolutely need him. We need his talent. We need his presence. We need his skill level. We need his ability to be a difference-maker in the games. We know he can do it. To me, we’re moving forward.”

Laine expressed feeling blindsided by being scratched from the lineup, acknowledging that he hasn’t been playing up to his own standards. He disagreed with the decision, stating, “If your confidence isn’t there, I don’t think you’re going to find it eating popcorn watching the game.”

He continued, “I can’t get confidence drinking BioSteel on the bench. I’m not crying about it because I’m not in a position where I can complain about anything with the way I’ve been playing, but that’s how I see it.”