Patrik Laine Named NHL’s 1st Star

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Patrik Laine has been named the NHL’s 1st star for the week of November 19 to 25. It’s the fourth time he’s made the league’s three player list, having previously won it twice in March 2018 and once in February 2017. Laine is also the third Jet to win a three star award after Mark Scheifele (Oct 28) and Blake Wheeler (Nov 12) had already been each named second stars for the league.

Patrik came into the week having already had a very good November with five goals and one assist in six games played, but this past week has been one of the absolute best the league has seen goal scoring wise from any one player in a long time.

He started with a hat trick against the Canucks on Monday night helping lead the Jets to a 6-3 win in Vancouver as he scored his first two even strength goals of the season, his previous eight goals having all been scored with the man advantage.

Two nights later in Calgary, he tried his best to rally the Jets to a comeback win after a poor start against the Flames with two more goals during a 6-3 loss to the Flames.

Two days later he added another goal against the Wild, this time scoring to open up the game in the hopes that giving the Jets a lead would change fortunes for his club.

But it was not to be as the Wild’s third period comeback to defeat the Jets 4-2 left a bitter taste in the mouths of many Jets players and fans, not the least of which Laine who appeared somewhat displeased at the end of the game…

That night he must have sworn all kinds of vengeance upon the hockey gods because the following night in St. Louis, he had nothing less than a historic night.

It was a performance that left everyone pretty much in awe and when you added numbers and previous NHL history into the mix, his current run has been even more inspired.

11 goals in a season is a pretty decent season for arguably 75% of the entire NHL. Patrik Laine ends the week with 11 goals total.

This coming week will also prove to be quite eventful as Patrik is one away from 100 goals in his young career and will be just the sixth player in league history to hit the century mark before his 21st birthday, joining a list of names that includes Wayne Gretzky, Steven Stamkos, Ilya Kovalchuk and Dale Hawerchuk. He could very easily do it at home tomorrow night as Sidney Crosby – who was one short of 100 before his 21st birthday – and the Pittsburgh Penguins come into town.