Canadiens “preparing for the worst” on Patrik Laine injury.

One of the National Hockey League's top insiders has shared an early update on what is going on behind the scenes with injured Montreal Canadiens star forward Patrik Laine, and unfortunately his comments make it sound like there may be a real cause for concern here.

While recording his podcast on Sunday evening, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that, while the Canadiens are trying to remain hopeful, the team is indeed preparing for the worst when it comes to Laine's seemingly devastating knee injury.

"The Canadiens do not know the extent of the damage yet," said Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast. "I think the best way to put it is they are hoping for the best but preparing for the worst."

You can hardly blame the Canadiens for anticipating a potentially terrible outcome here given the scenes that we witnessed on Saturday night. The first of which was of course the moment of impact itself when Maple Leafs centerman Cedric Pare went knee on knee with the aforementioned Laine.

Laine had to be helped off the ice, unable to walk back to the locker room under his own power, and that scene likely also left the Canadiens very concerned. Making matters even worse, Laine could be seen throwing his gloves and helmet in frustration as he was being helped to the back by members of the Canadiens staff.

For the brief moment that we see Laine's face in the clip above, right as Laine turns the corner towards the locker room, we can clearly see on his face that he is in a great deal of pain.

Friedman would again reiterate during the podcast that the Canadiens are preparing for some tough news ahead.

"Hopefully they will get the best possible news, although as I said they are bracing for worse than that," said Friedman.

The Canadiens will have a media availability a little later today after a morning skate that is schedule to take place around 10:30 am EST, so stay tuned for more details on this quickly developing story.