Nick Suzuki scored the overtime winner to give the Montreal Canadiens a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders.
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Patrik Laine scored in his regular season debut for the Montreal Canadiens in a 2-1 overtime win over the New York Islanders on Tuesday at the Bell Centre.
Nick Suzuki scored the game-winner at 2:39 of overtime.
Sam Montembeault won the goaltending duel against Ilya Sorokin with a 30-save performance.
From the opening ceremonies, Laine was greeted warmly by the Bell Centre faithful. The prized acquisition of the offseason missed the first 24 games of the season with a sprained knee.
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LE NUMÉRO 92… #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/WvyRAET32B
Let’s fast forward past the scoreless first period to the second. With Hudson Fasching in the box for the Isles, Laine uncorked a bar-down laser on Sorokin to score his first as a Hab. The Bell Centre fans once again erupted with applause.
PATRIK LAINE IS A MONTREAL CANADIEN 🗣️🗣️🗣️ pic.twitter.com/0zphuMiFY5
How about the shot from a different angle?
Welcome back No. 92 ❤️💙 pic.twitter.com/tCtlJvNpzA
Perhaps even more excited was his linemate Cole Caufield.
Caufield was so excited for Laine’s first as a Hab 🥲 pic.twitter.com/NZfuZ9jejT
Lane Hutson assisted on the power play goal. He also received an extra assist retroactively from Sunday’s game against Boston, so he’s now up to 16 helpers on the season.
With just over a minute to play in the second period, Anders Lee tied it up for Long Island. It was Montembeault’s only blemish on the night.
Anders Lee ties it with 63 seconds to go in the second!#NHL pic.twitter.com/XgR9BZQdcl
Late in the third period, the Habs thought they caught a break when Guhle was high-sticked by Maxim Tsyplakov. Upon review, it was determined Mike Matheson lifted Tsyplakov’s stick involuntarily. The game went to overtime in the usual three-on-three format.
In the extra frame, Suzuki scored on his own rebound to secure Laine’s first regular season win in bleu-blanc-rouge. Mike Matheson and Caufield drew assists.
NOTRE CAPITAINE
CAPTAIN CLUTCH#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/5XWmWL9GFy
It was a promising debut for Laine, who immediately showed off his elite shooting ability. Laine played 17:27 and had two shots in total. Suzuki and Caufield continued to rack up points. It was also a big night for Matheson, who rebounded from a rough performance in Boston with an assist and a +1 mark in 25:19 of ice time.
The liveblog commenters also noticed Josh Anderson skating and hitting, even if it didn’t translate into anything on the scoreboard. He, Gallagher and Juraj Slafkovsky teamed up for 14 hits on the night.
The 4 Nations Face-Off rosters had already been decided before today’s announcement, but if there was any last-minute cramming by Team Canada management, Montembeault made a persuasive case by besting Sorokin, one of the league’s best netminders.
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