Laine benched for 3rd period vs. Hurricanes

Newly acquired Columbus Blue Jackets superstar Patrik Laine was benched for nearly half of Monday’s 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Laine’s final shift came with 6:19 remaining in the second period, and he didn’t see any action in the third frame. He was on the ice for Carolina’s second goal, and the sniper finished the night with no points or shots over 11:31 of action.

The 22-year-old was playing his fourth game with his new club since being acquired for Pierre-Luc Dubois, whose tenure with the Blue Jackets came to an unceremonious end after he demanded a trade. Head coach John Tortorella later benched him for a lack of effort.

Tortorella didn’t get into the specifics of Laine’s benching postgame.

“That’s gonna stay in house,” he said, according to team reporter Jeff Svoboda. “I know you guys are going to try to work me on that. It wasn’t because of the missed assignment. There’s a number of things that come into play with that. That will stay in the locker room.

“It’s what I feel I need to do. The last thing I want to do is bench a player.”

He added that it’s important every Blue Jackets player consistently meets the organization’s expectations.

“Through hell or high water I am going to try to find a way to get us to that tightness with a lot of new bodies coming in here and understanding the standard and the culture that we want here,” he said.

Laine had recorded three goals with Columbus heading into Monday’s game. He was not made available to the media after the contest.