MONTREAL — Patrik Laine wasn’t sure what surprised him more — the roar of the crowd that accompanied his first rush up the ice, or the media horde that surrounded him in the Montreal locker room — after the Canadiens opened their NHL pre-season schedule with a 5-0- win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday.
“I wasn’t expecting this,” Laine said as he gazed out at 40 reporters and cameramen jostling for position.
There are high expectations for Laine, who was acquired from Columbus during an off-season trade for Jordan Harris. The veteran showed why on his first shift. He wasn’t on the ice for the first five minutes because the Canadiens were killing penalties but made a strong first impression by carrying the puck out of his own zone, shaking two defenders in the Flyers’ zone and launching a slapshot off the rush.
“I could feel the crowd behind me,” said Laine. “It was pretty exciting and I wish I could have scored.”
Canadiens coach Marty St. Louis shared the crowd’s excitement.
“I grew up with Guy Lafleur rushing down the ice and I saw a little of that,” he said of Laine’s charge.
St. Louis has Laine playing on a line with Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook and they figure to be Montreal’s No. 2 line.
“We’re getting to know each other and I think tonight we had some good looks,” said Laine.
Laine didn’t earn a point but he made something happen each time he was on the ice. He had a game-high five shots on goal and had three others blocked. He also chipped in with two hits and two take-aways.
Laine wasn’t the only newcomer to shine.
Defenceman Lane Hutson, who stands a fraction shy of 5-foot-10 and weighs only 162 pounds, played a big man’s game. He played a solid game alongside heavyweight David Savard and was named the first star.
“I felt comfortable out there,” said Hutson, who played two NHL games at the end of last season after wrapping up a brilliant college career at Boston University.
Hutson compensates for his lack of size with strong positional play and an ability to move the puck quickly out of his zone. He picked up an assist and was a plus-2 on the night.
The Canadiens put this one away with three goals in a 2:34 span in the third period. Montreal was nursing a1-0 lead when Savard scored at 3:06. Emil Heineman made it 3-0 at 3:56 and Josh Anderson scored at 5:39.
Luke Tuch, who was Hutson’s teammate at Boston University, opened the scoring in the second period and Alex Barré-Boulet completed the scoring late in the third.
Montreal went 0-for-2 on the power play, while Philadelphia was 0-for-4.
The Canadiens had a two-man advantage midway through the first period after Ronnie Attard and Anthony Richard were sent off on the same shift. Montreal managed only one shot on goal and were nearly burned when Cayden Primeau was forced to make a save on Attard who had a breakaway coming out of the penalty box.
Primeau, who is pencilled in as the backup to Sam Montembeault, started in goal and stopped all 13 shots he faced before he was replaced midway through the second period by Jakub Dobes who completed the shutout with 12 saves.
Eetu Makiniemi started for the Flyers and allowed one goal on 13 shots. He was replaced at the midway mark by Cal Petersen, who gave up four goals on 12 shots.
UP NEXT
Canadiens: Host the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.
Flyers: Host the New York Islanders on Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2024.
Pat Hickey, The Canadian Press
