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Rocket Richard race: Jets’ Patrik Laine to miss time with bruised foot

Stars Jets Hockey

Winnipeg Jets’ Patrik Laine celebrates his goal during against the Dallas Stars during the second period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, March 18, 2018, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. (Trevor Hagan/The Canadian Press via AP)

AP

The Winnipeg Jets received some good news about Patrik Laine on Thursday. After leaving Tuesday’s win over the Los Angeles Kings after blocking an Alec Martinez shot, the 19-year-old Finnish sniper could miss only between four and 14 days, according to head coach Paul Maurice.

“There’s nothing broken and he’s got a bruise,” he said. “When he gets his foot in the boot and feels comfortable, he’ll be back playing.”

That Laine isn’t expected to miss any time once the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin next month is great news for the Jets, who are pretty much locked into that No. 2 seed in the Central Division. What’s a shame is that this injury could derail his chances at the Rocket Richard Trophy.

With nine games to go in the regular season, Laine is one goal back (44-43) of Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, who have also played 73 games. The Jets forward began a scoring surge in the middle of February that’s resulted in 18 goals in his last 16 games, vaulting him up the list of the NHL’s top goal scorers and right on the heels of Ovechkin.
[The 2018 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs begin April 11 on the networks of NBC]

Maurice emphasized that they’re going to take their time in letting Laine heal. He’s not only a huge threat at even strength but also on a third-ranked power play (23.3 percent) that has seen him score 19 times with the extra man. No use rushing him back until he’s 100 percent ready to go and can continue to be dangerous once the playoffs begin.

“We don’t know how quick these things drain. It’s not really about pain tolerance. We’ll give it a few days,” he said. “We want him to be able to skate, we want him to be able to play and in the situation that we’re in, we don’t want him hobbling around the ice. We want him to be able to move pretty comfortably, so we’ll take as much time as we need until we get to that point. I just can’t give you the day.”

With files from Scott Billeck

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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.