Patrik Laine received a welcome from the Canadiens fans that he will remember for the rest of his life.
• Also read: A victory for Laine’s debut
• Also read: For Laine’s first goal, I was there
The Finn returned to the game after an absence of more than two months following an injury suffered during the preparatory calendar.
“Oh yes! It was the most outrageous thing I’ve heard in my entire life. I said to myself: “I don’t deserve this!”, confided Laine after the meeting. It will be something I will remember for the rest of my life. It was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”
He took the opportunity to thank the CH admirers who had gathered at the Bell Center to observe his first skates in the tricolor uniform by scoring his first goal with his new team in a 2 to 1 victory against the Islanders of New York.
“It was good. I closed my eyes hoping to hit the target. It was close and I almost missed, but it was a good shot that went into the net.”
A little rust
Even though he managed to sparkle the light for the first time since December 14, 2023, Laine was not 100% satisfied with his match. For him, the work has only just begun.
“It was great, I felt pretty bad the whole match,” he said jokingly. I was a little rusty obviously, but we went for the two points, that’s all that matters.”
As for Juraj Slafkovsky, he only had good words for his new linemate with whom he hopes to continue building chemistry.
“We had a tough game and we won several battles for the puck. We put a lot of pressure on their defenders to get the puck to us. We started in the right way and I feel that our unit has a lot of potential,” mentioned the 20-year-old Slovak.
“It’s nice to see him play” – Slafkovsky on Laine –
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