Gotta see it: Patrik Laine Injured, Arber Xhekaj Retaliates

The real chaos started when minor-league defenceman Cedric Pare caught Canadiens forward Patrik Laine with an awful knee-on-knee as he gained the offensive zone. There was no call on the play, but you’d be hard-pressed to argue that wasn’t a textbook knee. The referee could have at least called a trip, or any other of the other penalties that qualified, but decided not to dust off his whistle.

There’s been no update yet from the Montreal Canadiens regarding the injury to Reinbacher or Laine, but judging by the impact Laine absorbed, there’s a decent likelihood this may end up being a pretty nasty injury in a meaningless game, the worst possible scenario for both the player and the team. It’s a terrible situation for a player who took all the right steps to return to the game he loved. Not only does he have to deal with a likely knee injury, his mental health will come into play, as being away from the game is the toughest thing for athletes to deal with throughout their careers. If he’s forced to miss any significant time hopefully he will be in good enough shape to be around the team, as Kirby Dach did last season while recovering from his season-ending injury.

Unsurprisingly, the Canadiens didn’t take kindly to the ugly Laine injury as it was clearly a penalty, which led to defenceman Arber Xhekaj taking matters in his own hands by jumping Pare and giving him a six-piece combo. Xhekaj was rightfully thrown out of the game after being given 17 minutes worth of penalties, including a fighting major, an instigator minor, and a game misconduct.

UPDATE: The Canadiens have confirmed both Laine and Reinbacher will not return to the game.