Laine’s hat trick helps Jets prevail in Finland
Patrik Laine could hardly find a better place than home to show off his scoring instincts.
Laine had a hat trick as the Jets beat Florida 4-2 in Helsinki on Thursday.
Laine, who is from Finland, scored once in the second period and twice in the third, including an empty-netter, in front of a roaring sellout crowd of 13,500 at Hartwall Arena.
The teams will play in Finland on Friday as well.
“I don’t think you can imagine how good that feels,” Laine said. “It’s good to be home and score all those goals back here. It’s pretty awesome.”
Laine wristed a shot past James Reimer on a power play for a 2-1 lead with 4:46 left in the second, then slapped a one-timer for the winner on a two-man advantage from atop the left circle 3:28 into the third. He added an empty-net goal to complete his fifth career hat trick.
The Panthers, who outshot Winnipeg 38-36, tied the score twice on goals by Keith Yandle and Evgenii Dadonov.
“Overall, as a team, we played good in their zone,” said Florida captain Aleksander Barkov, another native of Finland. “We have another game (Friday), and we have to concentrate on that.”
Flames 6, Avalanche 5: Michael Frolik scored at 14:54 of the third to cap host Calgary’s five-goal outburst in the period as the Flames won their third in a row. Colorado, which has lost three of its past four games, had taken a three-goal lead with its fourgoal second period after neither team scored in the first 20 minutes. It’s the fourth time this season the Flames have come back to win when trailing after two periods.
Rangers 3, Ducks 2: Mike Zibanejad scored the decisive goal in the shootout as visiting New York handed Anaheim its seventh consecutive loss. Ducks wing Patrick Eaves made his season debut after missing the first 13 games because of a shoulder injury. He missed the final 77 games last season because of post-viral fatigue.
Flyers 5, Kings 2: Oskar Lindblom had a goal and an assist as visiting Philadelphia tuned up for a game in San Jose on Saturday by winning its second in a row. Los Angeles, tied with Florida for the fewest points (seven) in the NHL, has lost seven of its past eight games.
Blues 5, Golden Knights 3: Oskar Sundqvist scored his first two goals of the season, including the go-ahead strike 6:29 into the second period, to lead host St. Louis. Blues wing Robby Fabbri skated in his first regularseason game since Feb. 4, 2017. He missed 123 games after tearing the ACL in his left knee twice.
Predators 4, Lightning 1: Pekka Rinne, who missed the previous five games because of an undisclosed injury, made 42 saves as visiting Nashville reached 10 wins in 13 games, the fastest in franchise history. The previous mark was 15 games, done three times.
Oilers 4, Blackhawks 0: Mikko Koskinen stopped 40 shots for his first career shutout and Drake Caggiula scored two goals as host Edmonton won for the fourth time in five games. Chicago has lost four in a row. Koskinen, 30, became the sixth goaltender in franchise history to record at least 40 saves in a shutout.
Stars 2, Maple Leafs 1: Backup goalie Anton Khudobin made 30 saves and Tyler Seguin had two assists as visiting Dallas won for the fourth time in five games.
Islanders 3, Penguins 2: Josh Bailey, who scored a shorthanded goal in the second period, had the only goal in a shootout as host New York improved to 5-0 against Metropolitan Division rivals this season.
Red Wings scored 4, Devils a shorthanded 3: Justin Abdelkader goal midway through the third period and Trevor Daley put the puck in an empty net for another shorthanded score in the final minute as host Detroit won its third in a row. New Jersey has lost five of six after opening the season with four wins.
Canadiens 6, Capitals 4: Max Domi broke a tie with 21 seconds left, Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored his first two NHL goals and Brendan Gallagher also scored twice as Montreal won for the fifth time in its past six home games.
Senators 4, Sabres 2: Craig Anderson made 21 of his 46 saves in the third period and former Sharks defenseman Dylan DeMelo scored to help host Ottawa end a four-game losing streak.
Goalie updates: Los Angeles goalie Jonathan Quick, who was placed on injured reserve Thursday, underwent knee surgery and is expected to be sidelined for at least three weeks . ... Florida goalie Roberto Luongo (knee injury) was activated from IR.