Big breaks can be really nice for NHL teams, but sometimes you wonder if the timing is all wrong. It will be interesting to see if the Winnipeg Jets (and Patrik Laine) feel that way about their upcoming breather.
The Jets had really been cooking after shaking off a tough start from Steve Mason (the Jets dropped their first two games in ugly fashion). By edging the Minnesota Wild 4-3 on Friday, the Jets have now won four of their last five contests.
As you can see from the video above, Laine played a significant role in that win, showing that he might have some potential from “Alex Ovechkin’s office” on Winnipeg’s power play. Laine doubled his 2017-18 goals total from two to four with that effort, pushing him to six points in seven games.
Laine was unleashing that lethal shot with aplomb last night, too, firing eight shots on goal.
(Last night’s edition of The Buzzer notes that it was a milestone night for Paul Maurice and Blake Wheeler. Along with grabbing that assist, Wheeler scored his 200th goal.)
The Jets have high hopes for 2017-18, and Laine’s a big part of that excitement, so it was nice to see him unleashed.
If it’s a matter of rhythm, then this break is a bummer. Their next game doesn’t take place until Thursday, making for almost a week off, just when they were really sizzling. It’s a tough haul for the next while, so maybe they’ll take advantage of the break (or get rusty?):
Thu, Oct 26 @ Pittsburgh
Fri, Oct 27 @ Columbus
Sun, Oct 29 vs Pittsburgh
Tue, Oct 31 @ Minnesota
November isn’t a breezy month for the Jets, either, so Winnipeg has to hope that they can carry over some of this momentum.
For more Jets-related fun, check out this interesting NHL.com piece about how Connor Hellebuyck is changing things up.
James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.
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