Laine’s hat trick helps Jets defeat Senators

Patrik Laine recorded a hat trick with three powerplay goals to propel the Winnipeg Jets to a 52 victory against the visiting Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

It was Laine’s eighth career hat trick and gave the Jets points in four straight games after a fivegame losing streak.

“Gotta find new ways to score. Haven’t scored that many goals from my spot,” said Laine, who has eight goals in his past eight games. “So just try to change it up a little bit, go to different spots and maybe get those kind of dirty goals and tips, that kind of stuff. So that was a good day.”

It was his effort backchecking before his third goal that made him feel extra good.

“Yeah, well, I started it. It was my pass and it went the other way,” Laine, 22, said. “You’ve always got to backcheck, and it doesn’t matter what the score is. That’s going to look stupid if you just stand there and not try.

“I’m proud of that, even if after that the result’s not a goal. It doesn’t matter. I still take a lot of pride from that play. Gotta keep playing like that.”

Kyle Connor scored once and added three assists, while Neal Pionk had one goal and two assists for Winnipeg. Blake Wheeler contributed a pair of helpers.

JeanGabriel Pageau and Mikkel Boedker scored for the Senators (182611), who are winless in their past five games.

“I thought there was a lot of emotion during 5on5,” Pageau said. “But that is where we need to control our emotions and stick with our game plan and don’t give them the chance to go on their power play.

“That’s where they have their success, and that’s where they killed us tonight.”

It was Laine’s first hat trick since he had a fivegoal performance on Nov. 24, 2018, against St. Louis. He also surpassed last season’s point total (50) with the third goal. He sits at 23 goals and 51 points in his fourth NHL season.

Bruins 4, Coyotes 2: Charlie Coyle scored two goals, and host Boston beat Arizona for their 16th straight victory over the Coyotes. The NHLleading Bruins earned their sixth consecutive win. It’s Boston’s longest winning streak ever against any opponent, surpassing a 15-game stretch against the Philadelphia Flyers during the Bobby Orr-era from 1970-1972 when the Bruins captured two Stanley Cups (’70 and ’72).

Lightning 3, Islanders 1: Brayden Point, Steven Stamkos and Carter Verhaeghe scored as host Tampa Bay extended its winning streak to six games. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 15 shots and improved to 16-0-2 in his last 18 starts as the Lightning won their ninth straight home game.

Flyers 7, Capitals 2: Sean Couturier scored twice, Claude Giroux recorded three points and Brian Elliott made 25 saves to help visiting Philadelphia deny Alex Ovechkin a milestone and blow out Washington.

Devils 3, Kings 0: Mackenzie Blackwood stopped a penalty shot and made 37 saves in posting his second straight shutout, and host New Jersey beat Los Angeles.

Avalanche 2, Blue Jackets 1: Nathan MacKinnon scored the tie-breaking goal with 4:34 left, Philipp Grubauer had 31 saves and visiting Colorado beat Columbus.

Penguins 3, Panthers 2: Sidney Crosby scored his 10th goal in the second period, and Pittsburgh held off host Florida. Kris Letang had a goal and an assist for the Penguins.

Canadiens 2, Maple Leafs 1: Ilya Kovalchuk scored 1:43 into overtime and host Montreal rallied past Toronto. The Canadiens have won three straight and seven of nine.

Oilers 3, Predators 2: Leon Draisaitl scored twice and host Edmonton rallied to beat Nashville. Alex Chiasson also scored for the Oilers, who snapped a two-game losing streak.

Stars 3, Blues 2: Roope Hintz scored the game-winner at 2:19 of overtime and finished with two goals, leading visiting Dallas past St. Louis .