"Is he back or is it just the Sabres?": NHL fans react to Patrik Laine's hat trick from similar one-timer power play goals 

Patrik Laine's hat trick against the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night has NHL fans buzzing about the Finnish winger's resurgence. Laine scored three similar one-timer goals on the power play to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 6-1 rout over the Sabres.

Laine's performance places him third all-time among Finnish players with 11 career hat tricks, trailing legends Jari Kurri (23) and Teemu Selanne (22).

Fans took to social media to react to Laine's performance, with many wondering if he has finally returned to the form that saw him score 40+ goals in Winnipeg.

"Is he back or is it just the Sabres?" one fan questioned, noting Buffalo's poor play this season.

Another fan compared Laine to Toronto's Auston Matthews in a friendly rivalry between the two young stars.

"Laine>Matthews".

Here are some more reactions from fans on X/Twitter:

"Hell of a signing! Need to add pieces around him & stay healthy," one fan wrote.

"These "snipers" don't play hockey they just stand still and blast one timers with composite sticks that turn ordinary shots into rockets. Ovechkin ,Laine, Kucherov, draisaitl all the same one dimensional," another fan said.

"As an unfortunate sabres fan. We’re dogs**t. Laine is also back. But terry believes in his room so nothing will happen," one fan commented.

"This guy can f**k himself he looks like prime Ovi rn when he looked like prime Biz on the Jackets," another fan wrote.

Juraj Slafkovsky, Josh Anderson and Joel Armia also scored for the Canadiens. Dylan Cozens scored the lone goal for the Sabres.

Ukko-Pekka Luukonen allowed six goals on 21 shots and was subsequently replaced by James Reimer, who stopped all six shots. Sam Montembeault stopped 20 shots in the win.

Juraj Slafkovsky's comments on Patrik Laine’s hat trick

Young Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky was asked about Patrik Laine's hat trick against the Sabres. Slafkovsky, who scored his first career NHL hat trick last season as a rookie, had a lighthearted response.

"I still think mine [hat trick last year at the Bell Centre] was a little bit louder," Slafkovsky said. "No, it's probably one of the best feelings ever. Today I had goosebumps all over my body when I heard that, I'm so happy [for him]."

The Canadiens will look to Patrik Laine for continued production as they take on the Detroit Red Wings on the road at Little Caesars Arena on Friday.