Here’s some comfort for the Dallas Stars: they only face Patrik Laine and the Winnipeg Jets two more times this season, and not again until February.
They should probably mutter those facts to themselves throughout Tuesday night, as Laine & Co. have put on a clinic, shining a harsh light on the Stars’ deficiencies once more.
Laine generated a hat trick already, and he has a period to add to his stats as Winnipeg currently leads the Stars 6-1. To little surprise, both Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi have appeared in this game ... and neither have been able to stop the bleeding.
Laine, incredibly, already has two hat tricks in an NHL career that’s only spanned 14 games. He’s now at 11 goals in 2016-17.
Update: Laine ended the night with that hat trick and an assist as the Jets throttled the Stars 8-2.