Patrik Laine's OT goal completes first hat trick, caps Jets' comeback (Video)
The Toronto Maple Leafs faced off against the Winnipeg Jets Wednesday night in the first meeting of last June’s No. 1 and No. 2 overall picks. Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine have already been given the manufactured Crosby vs. Ovechkin “rivalry” treatment, which means if the two were playing for American teams NBC would have shoved the matchup down our throats already.
Anyway…
[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Hockey contest now]
As is tradition in Winnipeg, the Jets fans let Matthews know what they think of the Maple Leafs young star in the third period after Laine scored his second of the season.
Just add the “Laine’s better!” chant to the list of those Jets fans have aimed at opponents. Remember “Crosby’s better!” when Alex Ovechkin was in town? Or “Silver medal!” when then-Buffalo Sabres netminder was in goal? Then of course there was the Ilya Bryzgalov razzing following the goaltender’s comments about the lack of parks in Winnipeg.
In the end it would be a very memorable night for Laine and the Jets. Winnipeg fought back from a 4-0 deficit to win 5-4 in overtime. The hero? Mr. Laine himself, who scored the game-tying goal with 54.5 seconds left in the regulation and then the overtime winner moments after Matthews was denied on a breakaway.
We are so spoiled with the amount of young talent in this league right now.
– – – – – – –
Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy
