Leafs Told to "Hit Anything That Moved" During Preseason Game vs. Canadiens: Two Early Injuries on the Ice
During the preseason game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens, two unfortunate injuries occurred including one to Patrik Laine.
It was a terrible sight to see as not only Laine, but Montreal rookie defenseman David Reinbacher also left the game Saturday after being injured and also did not return. Both men needed assistance in getting off the ice and at least in terms of Laine, the severity of the injury could be catastrophic.
The Maple Leafs were extremely aggressive last night during the first period of their game and many fans of both teams took notice. Not only did we get those two injuries, but Arber Xhekaj absolutely pummeled Cedric Pare after the hit on Laine, and shortly after Montreal star Juraj Slavkofsky dropped the gloves with the Maple Leafs' Marshall Rifai. But was this ultra-aggressiveness part of a new gameplan by head coach Craig Berube?
One Montreal journalist seems to think so.
Anthony Marcotte, beat writer for the Canadiens believes the Maple Leafs had revenge on their mind and that grittier style of play led to the two injuries:
Remember Thursday's game and Pezzetta's check on Tavares? The Leafs wanted to get back at the Canadiens, this time by not exposing their best players.
The mentality will change with Craig Berube behind the bench, I have a feeling.
** Quote translated from French **
It definitely could be argued that the Maple Leafs were looking to enact some revenge on the Canadiens but a knee on knee collision isn't necessarily the best tactic; it puts both players at risk. Pare was leaning his shoulder into Laine but at the awkward angle he skated at him with, slammed knees with Laine as he was going for a body check. Cedric Pare was solemn in his response to the media after the game and that may have rubbed people the wrong way, however it's clear that Pare is not a malicious player, and he has no history of doing these type of tactics.
Pare, who the Maple Leafs signed as a depth piece this summer wasn't projected to make the main squad and he will gain his chops in the AHL; a place where he has spent most of his career since being drafted by Boston in 2017. He will try to help the Marlies towards their journey to the Calder Cup and will provide the Maple Leafs some insurance if the injuries start to pile up. He's not been able to reach the offensive potential he had in junior hockey where he scored 54 goals and 83 assists over two season with the Rimouski Oceanic.
We don't know for certain whether or not the hit was malicious or if there was some pre-game chat about going after any players on the ice. But what we do know is that Laine is seriously hurt and we can only hope that he recovers quickly and he can make his way back after going through so much the past few seasons.
