Is Patrik Laine playing tonight? Canadiens drop major update on star winger’s return from injury

Patrik Laine has not yet played for the Montreal Canadiens. He was traded to the team in the offseason, but the first year of his tenure has gone without an appearance so far as he dealt with a lower-body injury.

After returning to practice recently, Laine is back in the lineup tonight. The winger has rehabilitated and worked his way up to game speed and will play tonight. However, how much he plays remains to be seen.

Laine has been activated from the long-term Injured Reserve and is slated to start tonight against the New York Islanders. It will be the first time Laine will be been on the ice for a competitive game in about a calendar year.

He suffered an injury last season with the Columbus Blue Jackets and then entered the NHL's Player Assistance Program. After debuting tonight, he will have played for the first time in 355 days.

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Patrik Laine ready to contribute

A couple of months before he returned, Patrik Laine said he was ready to do whatever he could to help the team, including becoming a top scorer. He has had good scoring seasons before and wants to provide that for the Montreal Canadiens.

Montreal welcomes back Patrik Laine tonight (Imagn)

Via NHL, he said in August:

“I don’t want to come back as a 30-goal-scorer. I want to come back as a 40, 50- (goal-scorer). I’ve done that previously and it's not by accident."

He went on:

“But it’s not just all about that. I want to come in and do whatever it takes to contribute to the team and help the team win, whether it’s me scoring 50 or scoring 20, as long as the team wins. I’m getting to that age, I’m not 19 years old anymore. I just want to win.”

Laine will likely need some time to get back up to regular minutes on the ice, but he can start trying to help the Canadiens tonight in their contest with New York. Montreal has gone 8-13-3 in his absence.