Drafted second overall in the 2016 draft, right behind Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine was supposed to be the next great goal scorer. While he has had success at times, he has struggled the past couple of seasons. He's only scored a total of 36 goals since the 2020/21 season.
Laine was looking to start fresh in Columbus this season. He just signed a sizeable contract extension and he has a new line mate in Johnny Gaudreau to feed him the puck. As the Blue Jackets took on the Hurricanes, Laine sniped his first of the season just 11 seconds into the second period.
Unfortunately, shortly after, Laine went into the corner to battle for a puck and his arm was awkwardly pinned between Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce and the boards. From the video below, it looks like it was hyper-extended and the fact he sat on the bench before going to the locker room bodes well for him and the Blue Jackets.
Laine is currently being evaluated and is undergoing an x-ray to determine the extent of the damage. Hopefully for the Finnish sniper, he will be able to avoid a serious injury in this, just the first game of the season for he and the Blue Jackets.