Columbus Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella put newly acquired winger Patrik Laine on the bench during Monday night’s game against Carolina, then acknowledged that while sitting a player is “the last thing I want to do,” it was something that he thought it was necessary.
The Blue Jackets took over Laine two weeks ago in an exchange for center Pierre-Luc Dubois, who had also benched Tortorella this season.
Laine stopped seeing the ice on Monday after Hurricanes striker Brock McGinn scored with 6:19 left in the second period. Laine appeared to be passively defending in his zone during the game, but Tortorella said this was not the only motivation for the benching.
“It wasn’t because of the missed assignment. There are a number of things at play. That will remain in the locker room,” Tortorella said after Blue Jackets’ 3-2 win improved them to 6-5. -3 (percentage of 0.536 points).
Laine came into the game with three goals in his first three games in Columbus, having been taken over from the Winnipeg Jets for Dubois on January 23 with winger Jack Roslovic. Tortorella had put Dubois on the bench twice due to a lack of effort in the pre-trade matches.
Together with Laine, Tortorella also put defender Dean Kukan on the bench after McGinn’s goal.
“It’s what I think I should do,” Tortorella said. “The last thing I want to do is bench a player. But we’re just disjointed in all areas. Honestly, on and off the ice. It’s easy to bench a player. It’s it. last thing I want to do, but if I think I should do it, then I should do it. “
This kind of hard love is new to Laine. But veteran Blue Jackets like winger Cam Atkinson – who has played all six seasons and Tortorella coached in Columbus – know that the benchings can continue until effort and execution improve.
“Torts expects us to play as hard as possible. It doesn’t matter who you are, and I think everyone knows that. If you don’t give 100 percent and look like you’re trying, he’s going to let you down. It’s not Secret. That goes for everyone, including myself. I’ve been that guy many times. He just wants the guys who go to work, “said Atkinson, who scored on a penalty in Monday’s win. “It won’t always be pretty. Maybe you play with a lot of different things [linemates]. But for the most part, if we play the right way and stick to our concepts of playing north and hard forechecking, it doesn’t matter who you play with. “
Atkinson said he spoke to Laine about the benching.
“I’m sitting next to him in the locker room, so we talked,” Atkinson said. ‘We are a fairly open group. He knows [what he did wrong]. He will be the first to admit it. He just has to be better, clear and simple, and he knows it. Expect him to have a big game the next game. That’s what we have to do. Whether you’re new or old, we have to hold each other accountable. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you play. We all have to buy. “
Tortorella said that while veteran players like Atkinson can help get his message across, he doesn’t believe he needs a middleman with a player like Laine.
“I think it’s important that teammates help each other, but my feeling is with players that we don’t need anyone between us,” said Tortorella. “[Laine] and I will discuss it. I think it is important that the players and coaches discuss situations.
“And I’ll listen to him too. It’s all process here. I need to get this team to play as a team and take care of it as a team, otherwise we’ll continue with the hockey that we play now. It’s my job.”
Coincidentally, on a night when the other high-profile player included in last month’s exchange, Roslovic scored the winning goal with a remarkable attack late in the third period.