Martin St Louis Benches Canadiens Star Forward for the Entire Third Period

Down 2-1 to begin the third period of Game 2, Montreal Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis made a strategic decision to shorten his bench in hopes of mounting a comeback.

The decision did come at the cost of ice time for some of his key players, none more conspicuously than forward Patrik Laine, who did not see the ice at all in the third period. Joel Armia wasn't far behind, skating just a single shift in the third.

Laine, acquired by the Canadiens during the off-season with high hopes, ended the night with a total ice time of only 10 minutes and 10 seconds.

In Game 1, he had an assist in slightly more than 13 minutes of action but also ended up with a minus-2 rating.

While the Finnish winger began the season strong and led the club with 15 regular-season power-play goals, his recent offensive struggles have been apparent.

He has now scored just once in his last 11 games, including another goalless effort in Game 2.

Armia, meanwhile, had a team-low 7:27 of ice time, as St. Louis leaned heavily on his top players while trying to shift momentum. For Montreal, the effort wasn't enough to beat Washington Capitals goalie Logan Thompson in the third period.

The Canadiens now find themselves down 2-0 in the series as the first-round series shifts to Montreal for Game 3.