NHL: Preseason-Philadelphia Flyers at Montreal Canadiens - Source: Imagn — Montreal Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis discusses Patrik Laine's injury impact (Source: Imagn)

"The League doesn't care, it just keeps going": Canadiens HC Marty St. Louis speaks out on Patrik Laine's season-jeopardizing injury

Modified Sep 29, 2024 05:21 GMT

Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis faced a tough situation Saturday night. Forward Patrik Laine left a preseason game against the Toronto Maple Leafs with a leg injury.

The Canadiens announced he would not return, raising concerns about his health. The injury happened during a knee-on-knee collision with Toronto's Cedric Pare early in the first period.

After the game, St. Louis spoke about the fast-paced nature of the NHL. He said,

"I said it before; the League doesn't care, it just keeps going. For us we have to keep going & that's what we're going to do. We'll see is this short-term? Long-term? We don't know. He's going to be evaluated and we'll keep going."

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Martin St. Louis also expressed disappointment about the injury, saying:

“If you know you can get him back to his own standards, it’s pretty exciting," Louis said (via NHL.com). "And I feel we’ve done a good job of bringing him in and he’s started to feel more comfortable, so it’s hard to see him go down like that today. And hopefully it’s not too serious.”

The Canadiens will now evaluate his injury to find out if it is short-term or more serious. Laine was selected second overall by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2016 NHL Draft. He has 388 points in 480 NHL games. Although he is a six-time 20-goal scorer, he has faced challenges in recent seasons, playing only 129 of 246 games since 2021. His ability to score is clear; he had a career-high 44 goals in the 2017-18 season.

Laine’s injury is a challenge for Montreal as they seek to improve this season. If he is out for a long time, it could affect their goals for the year.

Also read: Sports injury expert lays out Patrik Laine's injury concerns

How did the Montreal Canadiens fall 2-1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs?

The Montreal lost 2-1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre. They outshot the Leafs 27-22 but struggled to score. Kirby Dach scored the only goal for Montreal late in the third period.

Patrik Laine suffered a knee injury early in the game after a collision. The Canadiens faced more challenges by playing much of the game with just four defensemen.

David Reinbacher left after one shift due to a lower body injury. Arber Xhekaj received a game misconduct for retaliating against Cedric Pare. Despite these difficulties, defensemen Mike Matheson and Lane Hutson played well, keeping the game close.