The Winnipeg Jets’ biggest Patrik Laine may have turned twenty just a few weeks ago, but that doesn’t make his accomplishments for the Winnipeg Jets any less special. It also doesn’t exonerate him for his poor play.
The Winnipeg Jets arrived at this place without Patrik Laine playing his best. They’ll probably need his best to keep going. Look, I know Laine scored 44 goals in the regular season, and just has four in the playoffs.
I also am aware that the fourth of those was Game One against Vegas. And two were in the opening two playoff games. Vegas needs to fear Patrik Laine, especially on the powerplay.
Laine is underperforming, there’s no doubt about that. But the body language is solid, the effort is there, the prototypical power-forward things are there. Laine just isn’t producing. The team’s best player isn’t even in their top five right now.
Yes, Laine isn’t a real speedster and you’re not going to see him getting Selke Trophies anytime soon. Scoring is pretty much his main attraction, and when you’re as good at it as he is, it’s a fine one to have.
I’m not necessarily calling Laine a one-trick pony, but make no mistake, he needs to score to be super valuable to the team. He’s been a decent force on the powerplay, as his last two goals have come with the man-advantage.
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And hey, if the team keeps winning, and he only produces on special teams, nobody will complain. But if Winnipeg starts to struggle to score, they have their scapegoat at the ready.
Maybe Laine is realizing his teammates are hot and is passing up shots he might normally take to get them good looks. Whatever’s going on, it’s working to an extent.
But Patrik Laine is one of the best scorers in the league, and it would be nice if he, y’know, scored a bit.
Patrik Laine is not Alex Ovechkin, you may have heard. Maybe he should try to be a bit more like him during these playoffs.
Look, I know Ovechkin was painted as a serial choker. I still firmly believe that, and I don’t think the Capitals will win the Stanley Cup. That’s a story for another time. I just wanted to toss that in, in the event someone @s me on Twitter.
But Alex Ovechkin has ten goals in the playoffs, four on the man advantage. Tied for the lead in the latter category, and tied for second in the former. Patrik Laine has two powerplay goals. That’s tied with *checks notes*…uh, Rick Nash and Evander Kane. Yes, them.
Look, I don’t know what ails our youngster. Maybe the moment is too big for him, but scoring in his first two playoff games helps dispel that rumor. Maybe he’s just a bit tentative, maybe the quality of penalty kills he’s been facing are very high.
Nashville and Vegas rank sixth and tenth in the PK, respectively. That’s pretty good. In five regular season games, Laine scored just one goal against Nashville. It was two in three games against Vegas.
Looking at his splits, I anticipated the goals to be spread out less. Laine scored a point against every team this season, with the exception of Columbus. Only the Islanders, Sharks, Oilers, Penguins and those Blue Jackets managed to hold him without a goal.
That’s impressive. It also shows Laine isn’t just feasting on bad opponents. I’m not sure what I expected to find. Ten goals in four games against Minnesota? Guess not.
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Point is, he’s been good against almost everyone. Nashville and Vegas are really good defensive teams. But the best scorers should be able to get pucks in the net regardless of the opponent. Patrik Laine needs to do just that.