Laine scores in season debut, Canadiens edge Islanders in OT

MONTREAL -- Patrik Laine scored in his debut for the Montreal Canadiens, who defeated the New York Islanders 2-1 in overtime at Bell Centre on Tuesday.

Laine, who was acquired by Montreal in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Aug. 19, missed the first 24 games this season while recovering from a knee sprain he sustained in a preseason game on Sept. 28.

“It was great,” Laine said. “I felt ... a little rusty, but we got the two points, so that’s really all that matters.”

It was also Laine's first NHL game since Dec. 14, 2023, when he sustained a broken clavicle while playing for the Blue Jackets. The 26-year-old forward then began receiving care from the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program on Jan. 28. He was cleared from the program on July 26.

“I talked with my therapist about this when I was a little nervous yesterday, and I just decided that putting this jersey on today, it’s an achievement after everything. And everything that comes after that is a plus," Laine said. "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. So, it was better than I expected, but there’s still some work to do.”

Nick Suzuki scored the winner in overtime, and Sam Montembeault made 30 saves for Montreal (9-13-3), which had lost two straight.

“I think it’s the best place to play in hockey, and the ovation that [Laine] got for his goal was pretty special,” Suzuki said. “And they’ve shown him nothing but love since he got here, so he was really excited to get in, and for him to get a goal was really cool to see.”

Anders Lee scored for the third straight game, and Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves for New York (9-10-7), which is 1-2-2 in its past five games and 2-4-3 in its past nine.

“I thought it was a great hockey game,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. “The first period was a little slow, but the second and third I thought everybody had good chances, and we had our chance to come up with the win.”

Laine gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 7:23 of the second period. He took a pass from Lane Hutson in the left circle and scored with a wrist shot past Sorokin’s glove off the far post.

“That was the most outrageous thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life,” Laine said about the reception he got from the crowd. “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. Just getting that welcome, even early on when I came here, from the fans and from the city overall, and now obviously coming back to play, it was pretty humbling. I’m just grateful and just thankful to be here.”

Lee tied it 1-1 at 18:55 of the second, picking up his own rebound in front and sliding a shot inside the right post. He has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past three games.

Suzuki won it for the Canadiens at 2:39 of overtime. His initial shot was stopped by the right pad of Sorokin, but the rebound hit off the skate of Bo Horvat and deflected to Suzuki, who knocked it into the open net.

“I’m pretty good at pool but I was trying to go low blocker,” Suzuki said. “I just missed my spot a little and a lucky bounce I guess. I messed up on the first entry my first shift in OT, so it’s always nice to get that second chance.”

The Islanders are 3-7 in games that have gone past regulation.

“Obviously, we’d like it to be better,” Lee said. “It’s all possession, you see that. You get possession in overtime and you control a few seconds there, you have a few opportunities. You saw them loop a few times and just throw it back, and that can be tough to defend. So, we’ve got to find a way to get a little bit more possession, and when we get our breaks, take advantage of them.”

NOTES: Islanders forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau had two shots in 14:28 of ice time after missing the previous two games with a lower-body injury. ... Hutson has five assists during a four-game point streak. The 20-year-old is the first defenseman in Canadiens history to have a point streak of at least four games at the age of 20 or younger.