Laine's hat trick powers Jets to 5-2 win over Stars
WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- The Winnipeg Jets have an 18-year-old to thank for administering a defibrillator to their dying playoff hopes.
Patrik Laine's third hat trick of the season included the winning goal with just over five minutes remaining to propel the Jets to a much-needed 5-2 victory over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night.
The Finnish sniper knocked corralled the puck off a faceoff in the Dallas zone and calmly ripped a wrist shot over the glove of Antti Niemi at 14:53 of the third period for his 25th goal of the year to give the Jets a 3-2 lead.
He added his third goal into an empty net with 62 seconds left.
Jets captain Blake Wheeler had earlier scored his 17th goal of the season into an empty net.
The win improved the Jets' record to 26-29-4. The Stars fell to 22-26-10.
The Jets opened the scoring when new linemates Andrew Corp and Laine broke into the Stars' zone on a two-on-one. Copp outwaited a diving defender before feeding his right winger at the top of the crease, allowing Laine to rip a shot past Antti Niemi at 15:04 of the first period.
Center Mark Scheifele was awarded the second assist.
Left winger Nikolaj Ehlers nearly doubled the lead early in the second period on the Jets' first power play of the game when he rang a shot off the post after corralling the puck off the end boards.
The Jets' third line made everybody forget Ehlers' transgression shortly after when left winger Shawn Matthias drove to the net and found Joel Armia in the slot. Winnipeg's second-highest scoring Finn snapped home his fifth of the season behind Niemi at 7:38.
A spirited tilt between Jets defenseman Ben Chiarot and Stars forward Curtis McKenzie in the middle of the period seemed to spark Dallas, which cut the lead in half just 15 seconds later off the ensuing faceoff.
Dallas center Jason Spezza, who was playing his first game after missing five with an upper-body injury, found captain Jamie Benn with a cross-crease pass and fired a shot past Connor Hellebuyck at 8:43 of the second period.
The Stars tied the score at 13:35 on the power play when sniper Tyler Seguin's seeing-eye shot from the point found the back of the net behind Hellebuyck, who was screened by right winger Patrick Eaves. It was the right winger's 21st goal of the season.
NOTES: The Jets placed G Ondrej Pavelec (lower body) on injured reserve retroactive to Feb. 7 and called up D Julian Melchiori from the Manitoba Moose. D Toby Enstrom (lower body) is also on the shelf after being injured Saturday. ... In the press box for the Jets as a scratch was RW Chris Thorburn. Joining him were Stars F Adam Cracknell, F Jiri Hudler and D Patrik Nemeth. ... The Jets and Stars are the only teams in the NHL that gave up more than 70 goals from Dec. 29 through Monday. The Jets had allowed 79 and the Stars 73.