A night after the sky was not falling, Blake Wheeler had a goal in the Winnipeg’s Jets 8-4 win over the St Louis Blues.
He wasn’t the story of the night.
Patrik Laine scored five goals for the Jets, count em, five.
“I feel like every time I touched the puck, it kind of went in somehow,” Laine said. “I guess it was one of those nights. It’s probably not going to happen in a while, but we’ll hope it happens. I think it was a great night overall for myself and my linemates.
“I was just trying to score one in the game. I wasn’t thinking about NHL records. … Obviously it was a great achievement, but it was a great win too.”
The NHL reported this was third time since the 1997-98 season a player has struck for five.
“To be honest with you, I’m surprised it hasn’t happened sooner,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said of Laine scoring five goals. “I’ve said that once only because I keep it to myself, but on the nights that he’s scored his three, he’s had his chances to get so much more. Boy, those guys were so good, and some of those goals, you’ve just got to sit back and smile if you’re standing on the right bench.”
He too five shots all night.
“It’s fun to play,” Laine said. “I’m having some great plays with my linemates. It’s pretty easy to play hockey right now with those guys (Kyle Connor and Bryan Little). I’ve just got to keep working hard and keep doing the things we’re doing.”
Laurent Brossoit made 23 saves to get the win for Winnipeg.
Vladimir Tarasenko, David Perron, Ryan O’Reilly,and Pat Maroon scored for the Blues.
“This is a tough one to swallow, especially after the effort we gave last night, beating a team like that,” Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo said. “We’ve got to be ready to play. It’s a back-to-back, early game, we’ve got to be ready to play.”
Brendan Lemieux and Brandon Tanev also scored for the Jets.
[WATCH: All Jets vs. Blues highlights]
Chad Johnson started for St Louis but was given the hook after yielding six of the Jets goals; he made 19 saves.
Jake Allen entered tin relief and made nine saves.
“It’s just his shot. He’s got good linemates. Wheeler found him a couple times and he’s just wide open. If you give him time and space with that wrist shot, he’s going to score the majority of the time. He’s got one of the best shots in the League,” Joel Edmundson said after the loss.
You must be logged in to post a comment.