Laine Experiences the 'Most Outrageous Thing' As Habs Down Isles| RECAP: NYI @ MTL
A new hero was born as Patrik Laine made his debut for the Montreal Canadiens.
By Rick Stephens, Rocket Sports, Montreal Canadiens Blogger
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GAME RECAP | Montreal Canadiens 2 vs New York Islanders 1 | FINAL/OT
Tuesday, December 3, 2024 - Bell Centre
Canadiens record: 9-13-3 | 21 points (30th in NHL)
Canadiens Lineup
Forwards
13 Cole Caufield - 14 Nick Suzuki - 15 Alex Newhook
20 Juraj Slafkovsky - 77 Kirby Dach - 92 Patrik Laine
17 Josh Anderson - 28 Christian Dvorak - 11 Brendan Gallagher
51 Emil Heineman - 7 1 Jake Evans - 40 Joel Armia
Defensemen
21 Kaiden Guhle - 8 Mike Matheson
48 Lane Hutson - 47 Jayden Struble
72 Arber Xhekaj - 58 David Savard
Goaltenders
Starter: 35 Sam Montembeault
Alternate: 30 Cayden Primeau
Out of the lineup
Scratches: Michael Pezzetta, Justin Barron
Injuries: Carey Price
Game Report
For Habs fans, it felt like pressing the reset button.
In the first 24 games of the season, the team has vacillated between struggling to score and fighting a losing battle to keep the puck out of the net. There have been brief glimpses of future the future potential but entering Tuesday night's game they had only managed eight wins.
But all of that was set aside as the Bell Centre faithful welcomed Patrik Laine for his first regular season contest wearing a Canadiens sweater. The building erupted when Laine scored a power play goal just over seven minutes into the contest. It was an exhilarating moment for fans and for the teammates of number 92, and a relief for 'Patty' who has battled through physical and mental challenges over the past two years.
"I talked with my therapist about this when I was a little nervous yesterday," said Laine post-game. "I decided that putting on this jersey today was achievement after everything. And everything that comes after that is a plus. It 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 putting this jersey on."
The overall evaluation for Laine's first game was unremarkable: two shots on goal, minus-1, -0.33 game score in 17:27 of ice-time. But his perfect shot for a power play marker that beat Ilya Sorokin for the Canadiens only goal in regulation time injected energy into the building that has been rarely seen this season.
On the ovation he received after scoring, Laine said, "That was the most outrageous thing I've ever heard in my entire life. It’s like, ‘I don’t deserve this,’ like, not at all. But it will be something for sure that I’ll remember forever. That was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen."
In overtime, a lucky bounce and Nick Suzuki ensured that the Bell Centre fans went home very happy.
Quick hits
⦁ The Canadiens outdueled the league's best faceoff team with a 56 per cent success rate at the dot.
⦁ Both games against the Islanders have required extra time. On October 19th, the Isles beat the Canadiens 4-3 in a nine-round shootout.
Up Next
The Canadiens continue their five-game home stand against the Nashville Predators on Thursday night at the Bell Centre.
Listen to the latest episode of the Canadiens Connection podcast!
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