McKenna’s Musings: Patrik Laine is a changed man

The real Pittsburgh Penguins have arrived.

Let’s get this straight right now, The Penguins are a legit Stanley Cup contender. I love their depth at center, and Sidney Crosby is playing some of the best hockey I’ve ever seen from him. NHL teams always talk about playing fast. 

Well if you want an example, watch Pittsburgh. They’re so up-tempo. The line of Jake Guentzel, Sidney Crosby, and Bryan Rust might be the best in the NHL right now. When they’re on the ice together, the Penguins have scored 50 goals and allowed only 16 against. Staggering.

The Toronto Maple Leafs desperately need an upgrade on defense. 

I’m not going to defend the recent goaltending of Jack Campbell and Petr Mrazek. It hasn’t been good enough. But there’s no way you can tell me they’re getting adequate help in front. Between the recent game against Buffalo where the Leafs allowed 5, and the 10-7 track meet against the Red Wings, the Leafs were exposed in their own zone. 

Even with a healthy Jake Muzzin, the Leafs needed a detail-oriented defenseman. Now with Muzzin on long-term injured reserve, the problem is even worse. If Toronto’s defensemen aren’t willing to block shots and pay attention to coverage, they won’t make it past the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Can Jeff Skinner be consistent?

I’m sure Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato would like to find the secret to motivating his highest-paid player. Skinner has seven multi-goal games this season. That accounts for 16 of the 23 he’s scored. There are games where the $9-million dollar man is completely absent offensively – and it’s reflected in the plus-minus column. 

In the 30 games this season where Skinner has failed to record a point, he’s minus-19. Skinner’s speed is an asset – when he has the puck. Not when he’s chasing the game. Hopefully linemates Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch can drag Skinner into the fight on a regular basis.

Can the L.A. Kings trust their goaltending?

There’s no shortage of people in hockey that will disagree with me, but I would not feel comfortable going into Stanley Cup Playoffs with Jonathan Quick and Cal Petersen. I have all the respect in the world for Quick. He’s won two Stanley Cups and earned a Conn Smythe trophy in 2012 as the NHL’s top playoff performer. He belongs in the Hall of Fame once his career concludes.

But he has failed to update his game in recent years. Quick has a habit of playing small and lingering in post-integrations far too long, and teams have figured out how to expose those deficiencies. Up until the holiday break in December, Quick had started 18 games, sporting a .930 save percentage. In 14 games played since, Quick’s .874 save percentage ranks dead last in the NHL among goalies that have played 10 or more games during that span.

Petersen has been relatively consistent, giving up more than three goals against in only five of his 23 starts. But he was supposed to have taken over the crease in L.A. this season, and that hasn’t happened. Petersen’s .899 save percentage is well below his career mark of .911 – a number that earned the 27-year old a three-year contract extension worth $15 million in total that kicks in next season.

That’s a lot of money committed to a goaltender that has yet to become a starter in the NHL. Petersen chases pucks laterally and is prone to playing outside his posts. He doesn’t rotate well. And Petersen isn’t a great puckhandler. There’s room for growth, but it needs to happen fast.

The Kings give up just 28.7 shots against per game, fewest in the NHL. It’s not always easy for a goaltender to play behind a stingy defense. But I see too many technical deficiencies in Quick’s and Petersen’s games to think the Kings will suddenly receive better goaltending during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Viktor Arvidsson has done exactly what L.A. hoped for.

After consecutive disappointing seasons in Nashville, Arvidsson was traded to the Kings in exchange for a 2021 second-round draft pick and a third-rounder in 2022. At the time, I thought the move was something of a gamble. Players don’t always regain their scoring touch, especially after being traded.

But Arvidsson is making L.A. GM Rob Blake look smart. He potted a hat trick on Mar. 4 against Columbus and has 38 points in 49 games. I’ve always liked Arvidsson and I expected him to be a good fit with the Kings. Centermen like Anze Kopitar and Phillip Danault are a dream for wingers to play with: both are as good without the puck as they are with it.

It took Arvidsson a while to adjust. In his first 11 games as a King, he only scored twice. But he soon found his groove. As Arvidsson’s game improved, L.A. rose in the standings. I don’t think it’s a coincidence.

I can’t believe Patrik Laine is only 23 years old – and a restricted free agent.

It’s crazy to think a player of Laine’s caliber isn’t locked up on a long-term contract. But such is the life of the enigmatic Blue Jackets forward. Laine’s current salary of $7.5 million will certainly be a starting point for negotiations.

So how high can his cap hit go? For how many years? And does Laine want to stay in Columbus? I don’t have answers to those questions. But I can’t help but think Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen will try his best to retain the talented Finnish sniper.

I love watching Laine when he’s skating on a line with Boone Jenner. They play with pace and have great chemistry. And I think it’s really starting to rub off on Laine, who’s not only filling the net but also smiling. It looks like Laine is having fun. That’s important.

I have no idea what’s going to happen with Laine in the next few months. But whenever Columbus is playing, I’m paying attention. Laine is scoring in different ways. He’s displaying confidence and creativity with the puck that I haven’t seen from him in quite some time. And right now, I think Laine is one of the best wingers in the game.