Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images

Montreal Canadiens forward Patrik Laine, who made headlines for the wrong reasons a few weeks ago, is experiencing quite the redemption.

After being challenged by his head coach Martin St-Louis, and after being benched more often than not a few weeks ago, he has responded brilliantly.

Lately, he’s been playing well, and more importantly, his level of commitment is much higher.

We got more great proof of that earlier today, as Laine was once again the first to hit the ice at the Bell Centre, alongside none other than Lane Hutson.

We love to see it!

Patrik Laine Sends a Strong Message to His Head Coach: He’s Locked In for the End of the Season!

See the images.

It’s such a beautiful thing to see, and it’s great to watch Laine rediscover his passion!

He even added to that sentiment during his press conference, thanking his head coach and mentioning how much fun he’s currently having in Montreal.

The Rebirth of Patrik Laine With Lane Hutson

It’s been obvious for several games now, and the Canadiens are simply not the same team when Laine plays this well.

Seeing him be the first to jump on the ice, well before all his teammates except Lane Hutson, speaks volumes (and it’s really not the first time this has happened in recent weeks, either).

After a rough stretch where Martin St-Louis was only giving Laine 10-11 minutes of ice time per game, the Finnish forward is now regularly back to 16-17 minutes a night.

Laine has tallied 8 points in his last 9 games, bringing him to a total of 32 points in 44 games this season, including 19 goals-putting him on pace for 60 points over an 82-game season.