Patrik Laine made an exciting return to NHL action after being away for nearly a year.
Laine played his first game with the Canadiens on Tuesday night, scoring the opening goal in Montreal’s 2-1 overtime win against the New York Islanders.
Although Laine hadn’t played in a regular-season game for almost a year, his sharp shooting was still there. The Finnish forward received the puck, turned, and took a shot that hit the post and went in on the power play 7:23 into the second period.
What happened next was something Laine had never experienced before.
“That was the most outrageous thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life,” Laine said.
He was surrounded by teammates who celebrated with him while fans gave a loud cheer when his goal was announced. This happened again when Laine was named the game’s first star.
“It’s like, I don’t deserve this, not at all,” Laine said about the warm reception. “It’ll be something for sure I’ll remember forever, that was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen, just getting that welcome.
“It was pretty special,” he added. “It’ll be in a very tight competition with my first-ever career goal, this one over here.”
Nick Suzuki scored the overtime goal to help Montreal end a two-game losing streak. Sam Montembeault had a solid game in goal, stopping 30 shots. This was a positive moment for a team that has been at the bottom of the standings for four straight seasons.
However, this night was all about Laine and his long return to the ice.
The 26-year-old winger broke his clavicle while playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets on Dec. 14. He then entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program on Jan. 28 to focus on his mental health and wasn’t sure if he would ever play again.
Laine was cleared to return on July 26, three weeks before being traded to Montreal, which gave him a fresh start. However, he missed the first 24 games of the season due to a left knee sprain from a preseason game against Toronto on Sept. 28.
He made his return on Tuesday with a mix of excitement and nervousness.
“I talked with my therapist about this, and I was a little nervous yesterday, and just decided that putting this jersey on today, it’s an achievement after everything,” Laine said. “Everything that comes after that is a plus. Doesn’t matter how it goes, I’m not going to have a bad game because I’ve worked too hard to get back to playing and put this jersey on.
“It was better than I expected.”
Laine finished the game with two shots and two hits in 17:27 while playing on the Canadiens’ second line with Kirby Dach and Juraj Slafkovsky.
The former 44-goal scorer said he felt “awful pretty much the whole game” and a little rusty, but the Canadiens were happy to have him back.
“We’re all very aware of what he’s been through the last two, three years. We didn’t even know if we were going to get him back in the preseason, it was kind of a murky situation,” Suzuki said. “For him to recover and get back and play like he did tonight, it was really cool to see. It inspired all of us tonight.
“I don’t think you could write it up any better. I mean, power play from his office, he’s been used to scoring the goals from there for a while.”
Montreal coach Martin St. Louis was impressed with Laine’s early performance after he played on the Canadiens’ top unit.
“You always want to have a start like that,” he said. “We’re happy for him. I found he looked at ease to start, you saw his skills right away. I know he’s a guy who’s going to help our power play, you see when he has the puck he’s a player people respect a lot, it opens up other players. He has great patience, he’s calculated.”
