Laine: 'I'm not even getting chances' during slump

Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine says there's something unfamiliar about his current slump.

The struggling sniper has managed just four points in his last 16 games.

"I've always told everybody: I'm not worried as long as I'm getting chances," Laine told The Athletic's Aaron Portzline. "So I feel like this is kind of new. I'm not even getting chances. That's something I've never had before. I guess that's just the way it goes sometimes.

"(I) still have to play the same way, play just as hard, and hopefully find a way to do your best and hopefully score every now and then."

Laine's play has tailed off considerably since he first arrived in Columbus from the Winnipeg Jets. In his first 10 games with the Blue Jackets, he registered six goals and four assists.

The 22-year-old has been benched on multiple occasions in his short stint under head coach John Tortorella, and he admitted earlier in March that he was battling a lack of confidence.

Laine's managed 17 points in 27 games in 2021, the least productive showing of his five-year career. He's a restricted free agent at season's end.