Patrik Laine authors first hat trick with Montreal Canadiens - ESPN
MONTREAL — Patrik Laine posted his first hat trick with the Montreal Canadiens, as his club extended the Buffalo Sabres' winless streak to 11 games with a 6-1 victory on Tuesday night.
Juraj Slafkovsky, Joel Armia and Josh Anderson also scored for Montreal, and Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Lane Hutson provided two assists each and Sam Montembeault stopped 20 shots.
It has been a long road for Laine, who made his Montreal debut earlier this month. He sat out the season's first two months because of a knee injury after an offseason trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets in August via Laine's request.
«He's been working hard, coming to the rink every day, trying to get better,» Suzuki, Montreal's captain, said of Laine. «He's been doing the right things over and over again, and I'm happy that he got rewarded.»
Laine was skating in his second preseason game for Montreal in September when he collided knee-on-knee with Toronto Maple Leafs forward Cedric Pare. Though Laine said at the time the injury «could have been much worse,» it still set him up for a lengthy recovery.
Laine, 26, was limited to only 18 games last season while rehabbing a broken clavicle and then spending time in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program from January to July.
He has had some form of injury nearly every season since the Winnipeg Jets selected him second overall in the 2016 NHL draft. Despite that history Laine made the most of his time in Columbus, averaging a point per game over two seasons in 2021-23.
But his start with the Canadiens has been strong. He now has six goals, and all three Tuesday night came on power plays. It was his 11th career hat trick, and despite sitting out the start of the season, Laine is already tied for fourth in goals