Moments ago, Patrik Laine had to be helped off the ice after an ugly hit from a Leafs forward. Chaos ensued immediately after. Leafs forward Cedric Pare , a career minor leaguer, stepped up to make an open ice hit on Patrik Laine.
Pare ended up making direct contact with Laine's knee, which spun out the Habs new forward and sent him down to the ice in ugly fashion. Laine had to be helped off the ice and wasn't able to pit any weight on his leg. Immediately, Habs fans are worried it could be as bad as a season ending injury.
Moments afterwards, Habs enforcer defenceman Arber Xhekaj hunted down the Leafs forward. Pare didn't want to engage in a fight at all, but Xhekaj wouldn't let him go and eventually just began pounding down on the unwilling opponent . In all honesty, the retaliation went far beyond what is acceptable in hockey.
Xhekaj was booted from the game for his horrific bush league actions, and the Maple Leafs received a 7 minute powerplay out of the entire sequence. Xhekaj should be suspended for the brutal brawl that was reminiscent of Todd Bertuzzi. It's an extremely awful outcome if Patrik Laine is seriously injured before the season even begins in Montreal.
Laine was dealt to the Canadiens this offseason with hopes of getting a fresh start after some personally tough years in Columbus, and this isn't the kind of start anyone wanted to see for Laine. Last season, Laine was only able to play 18 games and scored just 6 goals, after he spent the majority of the seaso.