Winnipeg Jets Patrik Laine: Just what we've come to expect
Patrik Laine wasn’t one to hide his excitement. He’s got a perfect personality to become a fan favourite of Winnipeg Jets fans. Auston Matthews is the opposite, he showed no signs of caving in, and convinced the media his first head to head matchup in the National Hockey League against Laine was nothing more than just another game. Patrik Laine fessed up. This game was a big deal to him, and he wanted to show why he’s the NHL’s best player selected in the 2016 NHL draft, and really, best in the entire league wouldn’t be too bad either.
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Laine didn’t over power the Jets. His play was solid, but many Jets had better consistently in their play over the sixty minutes than Patrik Laine did. That doesn’t mean Laine didn’t contribute how he’s meant to, and that’s on the score sheet. He knows it, his teammates know it, and his opponents know it, if you haven’t seen much of Laine in a game yet, he’s most likely about to pounce. Laine has a shot that can change the dynamic of a game in less than a second, and in this particular instance, turned a four to one Jets deficit into an overtime win.
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Laine will always be criticized for being “lazy”, although he’s named by coaches as engaged physically, and defensively. His transition straight to the NHL was questioned, because if he’s not scoring, Patrik isn’t the most impactful player. That isn’t, and won’t be an issue. One week into the NHL season, and Patrik leads every player in the league in goals, tied with his draft-mate Auston Matthews.
Obviously we won’t be seeing Patrik Laine score a goal every game, like the pace he’s on right now, but we will continue to see Laine change the game in less than a second. How he releases the puck so fast, and precisely is anyone’s guess, especially on his first goal of the evening, when he stumbled with the puck, had to reposition himself, and slap it in top left in less than a few tenths of a second. Laine’s debut in the NHL has been great, and we can expect him to build on it through the next few months.
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