Patrik Laine was out of the lineup when the Montreal Canadiens faced the Chicago Blackhawks.
Pictured are Chicago Blackhawks’ Tyler Bertuzzi and Montreal Canadiens’ Juraj Slafkovsky. Matt Marton, EPA/AOP
Patrik Laine did not play when the Montreal Canadiens faced the Chicago Blackhawks in the away bowl.
The club announced just before the match that Lainee has “flu-like symptoms”. In addition to Laine, defender David Savard was out of the lineup due to an upper body injury. He played in place of Laine in the second chain Michael Pezzetta.
Fists were swinging
In the first period of the match, Chicago’s goal taps were opened by Tyler Bertuzzi with superiority. Connor Bedard and Teuvo Teräväinen were recorded as the scorers. Before the break, Canadiens’ Cole Caufield managed to level the match at 1–1.
The first round also saw a heavyweight fistfight, when the Blackhawks’ 106-kilogram Patrick Maroon faced the Canadiens’ 108-kilogram Arber Xhekaj. The fight ended when Xhekaj managed to knock Maroon down with left hand strikes. Both received a five-minute penalty for fighting.
Blackhawks’ Nick Foligno scored the only goal of the second period. Maroon, who was waving his fists at the beginning of the third period, already gave Chicago a 3-1 lead. Canadiens Emil Heineman narrowed the match later, but it wasn’t enough to ignite the team to the end. Towards the end of the third period, Foligno succeeded again, and the home team won 4–2.