On BPM Sports earlier today, journalist Renaud Lavoie addressed the Patrik Laine situation.

As a reminder, the Montreal Canadiens forward unfortunately left last night’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets after being the target of numerous hard hits from his opponents.

During his morning segment on December 24, Renaud Lavoie had a lot to say about the circumstances surrounding Laine’s departure.

He mentioned that the Blue Jackets players were hitting Laine extremely hard and, more importantly, that they were specifically targeting his shoulder.

Why the shoulder? Because Patrik Laine had a significant shoulder issue last year, and the Columbus players were well aware of this.

Renaud Lavoie Revisits Patrik Laine’s Departure Last Night

Here is an excerpt.

«They were hitting him in specific areas, and the Blue Jackets players knew exactly what they were doing.. And it worked; he was forced to leave the game.»

«I think, most likely, someone somewhere decided that he shouldn’t return to the game.

The objective was to take him out of this matchup.»

– Renaud Lavoie via BPM Sports

This confirms what many were saying!

It could also confirm the theory that Laine was kept out almost as a precaution, precisely to avoid a more serious injury.

Let’s sincerely hope that’s the case and that Laine is back for the next game.

This remains a story to watch with the Montreal Canadiens, but it’s unfortunate to see that the Blue Jackets players were continuously targeting Laine in the same spot and seemingly trying to take him out of the game.

And to fan the flames even further, Mathieu Olivier’s response when asked if his team was purposely targeting Patrik Laine was simply: «No comment».