Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki shares his honest take about Cedric Pare's hit on Patrik Laine

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Julien Trekker
September 29, 2024 (6:24 PM)

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The Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki shared his honest take on Cédric Paré's hit on Patrik Laine.

Last night's game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens didn't look like a preseason clash. The Leafs won 2-1 in what seemed to be a real playoff game, marked by many bad officiating decisions, fights, and injuries.

It all started on the first shift of the game when Habs defenseman David Reinbacher was injured in a collision with Marshall Rifai.

Then, only a few minutes later, Cedric Pare, who'll play in the AHL or ECHL this season, took out Patrik Laine of the game with a dangerous knee-on-knee contact.�

No penalties were called on the play by the referees.

Before the end of the first period, Arber Xhekaj went after Pare, who didn't want to fight. Xhekaj was determined to avenge his teammate and started to punch him. The referees quickly intervened and ended up giving Xhekaj a game misconduct, leaving the Habs no choice but to play with four defensemen for the rest of the game.

Xhekaj ended up being fined by the Department of Player Safety on Sunday:

Frustration was palpable on the Habs bench, and Nick Suzuki's post-game comments reflected that sentiment.�

The Canadiens captain didn't shy away from speaking his mind when he was asked to give his take on Cedric Pare's hit on Laine.

Here's what he said:

Losing Laine before the regular season starts is tough for the Canadiens. Now, the team and the fans can only hope that he'll be able to be back before the end of the season.