Patrik Laine brings hope to Montreal Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens received a massive boost to their lineup when Patrik Laine returned from injury against the New York Islanders.

Expectation mixed with anticipation had the entire hockey-crazed city of Montreal waiting for a reason to erupt in Laine's Bell Centre debut. As you all know, Laine scored in his debut on the power play. In his first game with the Habs, after a frustrating start to the season, Laine did what he is renowned for, overwhelm a goaltender with his wicked shot.

On the play, Lane Hutson the Habs number one power play unit quarterback started the passing play. Captain Nick Suzuki played pass with Hutson, before Hutson fed Laine the puck on his off-wing. Laine dusted off the pass, and then fired a wicked wrister short side on New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin.

This was expected, maybe not so soon, but there was a certain level of hope and excitement that came along with Laine and his arrival with the team. But his personality and drive to help the Canadiens get better come through in interviews, both with and without him. Juraj Slafkovsky says that Laine says some crazy stuff, and in his interviews, Laine expressed that he isn't impressed by scoring a goal but is concerned about sloppy team play.

You can use your imagination in trying to figure out what Laine says on the bench, perhaps he even mixes some Finnish in there. A Joel Armia interview is obviously in order, to see what exactly Laine discusses with his fellow countrymen. Surely if he is wild when speaking English, there are no holds barred when he speaks his native tongue.

Laine addresses Habs need emphatically

We can argue until the cows come home that it's been a small sample size, but it's hard to argue Laine's value to the team through his first four games. The fact that Laine has scored goals, many goals during his career and analysts know he is elite, makes it seem likely he will get back to his pursuit for 50 goals in a season. Music to the ears of the Habs collective fanbase, since the Canadiens were lacking goals.

The anticipation and excitement for Laine to play were at an all-time high, and the fanbase starved for goals knew Laine should be a huge addition. Fortunately that is exactly the case, and as Laine finds chemistry with his linemates, I expect that he will do more damage at five-on-five. The power play goals are great, but the team need to be better at even strength.

Montreal has some prospects coming through the wings, but I think that Laine is a guy who needs to be signed to stick around for a while. He fills a need, and in the prime of his career, he fits seamlessly with the Habs rebuild. Laine was drafted second overall in 2016, meaning he is only a year older than Suzuki.