Winnipeg Jets Loss Robbed Us of Patrik Laine Vs Alex Ovechkin
The Winnipeg Jets not making the Stanley Cup Finals wasn’t just a bummer for the fans of the team, it also robbed us of a potentially historic matchup.
The Winnipeg Jets aren’t in the NHL’s biggest media market. I think you’ll forgive me if I assume the NHL wasn’t devastated by their loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. An expansion team facing a team that can’t win the big game is a huge moneymaker for the sport.
But with Winnipeg vs Washington, we would’ve had a really fun matchup: Patrik Laine Vs Alex Ovechkin. The game’s top sniper and seven time Rocket Richard winner taking on the 20 year old version of himself.
I realize Patrik Laine has quite some way to go to be considered at Ovechkin’s level, but the two were 1-2 in goals scored this past season. They have remarkably similar games, too. Neither are brilliant skaters, but both use their size effectively.
Each one knows how to get into position, usually the left circle, and rifle a slap shot or a wrist shot faster than most have ever seen. I mean, they even call the area above the left circle Alex Ovechkin’s Office.
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The two have been compared to one another since the outset of Laine’s career. Patrik Laine hasn’t really disappointed, as he’s averaging 40 goals a season in his first two, his age 18 and 19 seasons. That’s a hell of a start.
Alex Ovechkin finally reaching the Stanley Cup Finals is a really good story on its own*, but wouldn’t it have been more fun if he had to face his greatest enemy: Himself?
I mean, Alex Ovechkin has been fighting himself to make the SCF since day one. He’s always been lauded as a playoff bum, and, as we talk about him frequently here, you know he and Laine will always have their careers tied. Just as Sidney Crosby and Ovechkin. And just as Crosby and Connor McDavid will.
Wouldn’t that be a fun finals? Sid the Kid, the generation’s greatest player, going against his heir apparent? That’s essentially what we could have had here. It’s a disappointment, sure. Laine is 1-1-2 in four career games against his predecessor, with just one point — a goal. Ovechkin? Four goals, one of which was an OT winner, and two helpers.
Not that any of that matters, I just thought I’d bring it up for fun. Ovechkin might have been driven by not looking bad against his quote unquote protege.
This would’ve been real fun to see, however, we’ll have to wait. Maybe another time, but for now, the Winnipeg Jets will figure out how to get past the Western Conference Final and the Washington Capitals will be looking to see if they can repeat next season. Or, you know, go home sad again.
Next: Can The Jets Get Back to the WCF?
*I would like to note that for fans of the Washington Capitals and people who hate Sidney Crosby, this is a good story. This is not a good story for me, or for many people, who enjoy watching the Capitals toil in championship purgatory.