Laine scores in Montreal debut, Canadiens beat Islanders 2-1 in OT

MONTREAL — Patrik Laine scored in his highly anticipated Montreal debut, and the Canadiens defeated the New York Islanders 2-1 in overtime on Tuesday night.

Laine, playing his first regular-season game in nearly a year, opened the scoring on the power play 7:23 into the second period. The former 44-goal scorer showed off his wicked release with a wrist shot off the post and in, sending the Bell Centre crowd into a frenzy.

Nick Suzuki buried the overtime winner for Montreal (9-13-3) at 2:39, following up his own rebound as the Canadiens snapped a two-game skid. Sam Montembeault had a strong night in net, stopping 30 shots.

Anders Lee replied for New York (9-10-7), which lost its fourth in five games. Head coach and legendary Canadiens netminder Patrick Roy returned to the Bell Centre for the second time since being hired last season.

Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves.

Laine missed the first 24 games of the regular season after sustaining a left knee sprain during pre-season play against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sept. 28.

The 26-year-old Finn, who the Canadiens acquired before the season, hadn’t played since last Dec. 14 with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

TAKEAWAYS

Canadiens: Laine finished with one goal, two shots and two hits in 17 minutes, 27 seconds. He skated on the Canadiens’ second line with Kirby Dach and Juraj Slafkovsky and started on Montreal’s top power-play unit, which went 1-for-2 on the night.

Islanders: The Islanders continued to struggle with the man-advantage, going 0-for-3. New York entered the game with the league’s second-worst power play at 12.9 per cent.

KEY MOMENT

Laine received the puck and had all the time in the world to turn and pick his spot on Sorokin. He pumped his fists in the air as teammates swarmed him before the Canadiens fan gave a deafening standing ovation while the goal was announced.

KEY STAT

355 — The number of days since Laine’s last regular-season game. Laine scored a goal against the Maple Leafs but broke his clavicle. He later entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program on Jan. 28 to prioritize his mental health and was cleared to return on July 26, three weeks before his trade to Montreal.

UP NEXT

Canadiens: Host the Nashville Predators on Thursday in the second of five straight games at home.

Islanders: Host the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2024.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press