Stars Lose In Winnipeg
By Geoff Kirbyson, The Sports Xchange
WINNIPEG — The Winnipeg Jets’ growing pains are slowly turning to pleasure as they rode two their two youngest guns to a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars Thursday night.
Finnish phenom Patrik Laine scored a pair, including his fifth and sixth of the season, while left winger Kyle Connor scored the first of his career as the Jets exacted some revenge at the MTS Centre for a 3-2 loss in Dallas just 48 hours earlier.
Laine, 18, is now tied with three other players — Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Richard Panik of the Chicago Blackhawks and Alex Killorn of the Tampa Bay Lightning — for the league lead. He scored both of the Jets power-play goals — they were two for seven with the man advantage — and he also netted four of the Jets five power-play goals this year.
“When I came here, they had the worst power play last year so I thought that I could bring something to the power play. And now I’ve got a couple goals on the power play. Those are important goals for these games. I’m just trying to help my team to win,” he said.
“I think I shoot every time like that but sometimes they don’t go in and now it seems like almost every shot is going in. So, of course, when you’re hot, you’re hot. I’m just trying to create more chances and score some more goals.”
Laine’s markers, which were laser beams from his favorite spot on his off-wing and to the right of Stars netminder Antti Niemi, gave the Jets a 3-0 lead and then put the nail in the coffin for 4-1.
The last Jet to lead the league in scoring was Teemu Selanne back in his rookie season of 1992-93, when he tied with Buffalo’s Alexander Mogilny with 76.
Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck made 38 saves in the win, which improved the Jets record to 3-4-0. Defenseman Tyler Myers had the Jets other goal. The Stars fell to 3-3-1.
Stars center Tyler Seguin broke Hellebuyck’s shutout bid when he ripped a snap shot over his shoulder on the power play just 33 seconds into the third period.
Jets coach Paul Maurice said he’s not surprised that Laine shows the kind of emotion when he lights the lamp that’s usually reserved for ordering a cup of coffee.
“I think he’s just used to scoring goals. That first shot, he knew where it was going for sure. The second one — there’s not a lot of room there — but he does it so often, you know that’s where he was putting it. He’s a spectacular shooter,” he said.
“He’s a really humble person. It’s important to him that he portrays himself like that. He’s probably not going to be throwing a parade for himself after he scores a couple of goals. He has that expectation.”
Myers said he thought tonight’s result was a carry-over from Tuesday’s effort in a 3-2 loss in Dallas. It was also nice to not have to pull the goalie for the first time all season.
“It definitely did feel like we were playing catch-up a bit to start the year. To have the lead going into the third, we knew we wanted to keep it and we came out strong,” he said.
His coach agreed.
“I really liked the way this thing went at 3-1. The bench was really good. The story of the game is we had some D-zone coverage time after that and we were really solid,” he said.
Stars coach Lindy Ruff said special teams were the difference. His squad was 0-6 on the power play. It also didn’t help that Myers opened the scoring just 15 seconds after the national anthem singer had left the ice.
“They generated a lot of energy and a couple goals. We got off to a tough start with (Myers’) shot going in but I thought our work ethic inside the game was good,” he said.
It was the second-fastest goal from the start of a game since the Jets relocated from Atlanta in 2011. Kyle Wellwood owns that distinction at eight seconds. The NHL record belongs to original Winnipeg Jets winger Doug Smail, who scored five seconds into a game Dec. 20, 1981.
Ruff knew his squad was in tough with six of their 12 forwards on the shelf with a variety of injuries and a bunch of replacements from the farm.
The Jets received a scare early in the third period when defenseman Dustin Byfuglien got tangled up with Stars left winger Antoine Roussel and went down in a heap. Byfuglien was helped off the ice and was taken to the dressing room to be evaluated. He returned to the ice to a rousing ovation before the midway point of the period.
