Laine gets 3rd goal in OT to lift Jets over Maple Leafs
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) Rookie Patrik Laine got the last laugh in his anticipated showdown with Auston Matthews, then cracked a joke or two after.
Laine completed a hat trick 2:40 into overtime, helping the Winnipeg Jets overcome a four-goal deficit to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4 on Wednesday night.
Laine got the better of his first head-to-head matchup against fellow rookie Matthews, tying the game with 55 seconds left in the third before winning it in overtime. The confident Finn went second overall in the 2016 draft behind Matthews, despite Laine's public insistence he should have gone first.
''I think it was just a normal regular season game,'' Laine said with a chuckle.
Laine got his third goal with a wrist shot on a 2-on-1 rush. He swooped behind the net with his arms raised after scoring, and his teammates hopped on the ice to celebrate while hats poured down from the stands.
Laine has four goals on the season, tying Matthews and three others for the NHL lead.
Fans chanted ''Laine better'' during the game, music to the rookie's young ears.
''Yeah, I heard something and that sounds pretty good,'' Laine said. ''That's their opinion and I'm not going to say anything about that.''
Matthews heard the chants, too.
''It's a great atmosphere,'' Matthews said. ''Obviously, Winnipeg is a great hockey city so that's what you get when you play these types of teams. You got to block it out and just have fun with it.''
Laine scored in overtime right after Matthews was stopped by goaltender Michael Hutchinson at the other end.
''Two great young players that are going to give their fans reasons to have nights like this over the course of the year, over the course of their careers, starting now,'' Jets coach Paul Maurice said. ''We've just seen brilliance from both of them in the first four games of the season. Lucky for Winnipeg fans and lucky for Toronto fans we get to watch two great young players.''
Winnipeg was down 4-0 early in the second before getting goals from Tyler Myers, Laine and Mark Scheifele, who made it 4-3 at 6:05 of the third.
Laine tied it on the power play with Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly in the box for cross-checking Scheifele, who also had a pair of assists.
''That was a big play for them and I'll take blame for that one,'' Rielly said.
In their season opener against Carolina, the Jets were down 4-1 early in the third and came back to win 5-4 in overtime.
Nazem Kadri scored twice for Toronto and Connor Carrick and William Nylander also had goals. Nylander added an assist.
Hutchinson made 36 saves for Winnipeg and Frederik Andersen stopped 29 shots for Toronto.
Carrick opened the scoring at 6:46 of the first off a rebound, and Kadri made it 2-0 with a low shot from the slot at 16:12.
Toronto then used a pair of power-play goals to make it 4-0 early in the second.
Nylander scored with 2 seconds left on a five-on-three power play 6:47 into the second. Kadri followed with his second goal of the game 8 seconds later.
Winnipeg got its own power play in the middle period, but Andersen made three great saves within a few seconds.
A minute after the Leafs' penalty expired, Myers and Scheifele got on a 2-on-1, with Scheifele passing the puck to Myers across the ice in front Carrick for Myers' goal at 13:04 and the 4-1 score.
Laine scored a minute into the third when he took a pass from Byfuglien at the point, turned and fired a wrist shot by Andersen.
Five minutes later, Scheifele blasted a shot past Andersen on the stick side for his third goal of the season.
NOTES: Laine also has one assist for five points in four games this season. Matthews got his first NHL assist Wednesday and has five points in three games.
UP NEXT:
Jets: Play in Sunday's outdoor Heritage Classic against Edmonton.
Maple Leafs: Travel to Minnesota for a game Thursday.
