What happened last night that you need to know about? Joe McDonald gives us his take on the biggest and best performances. This is where we say, "Morning, Joe."
Laine arrives: Hockey history repeated itself Wednesday night in Winnipeg, and it came with an incredible ending. Patrik Laine, the Jets' top pick in June (No. 2 overall) scored his first career hat trick, including the winner in overtime, to lead the Winnipeg Jets to a thrilling come-from-behind 5-4 victory over No. 1 pick Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Jets scored five unanswered goals en route to the win. The history part: In the first NHL meeting between 2015 top picks, the Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (No. 1) and the Buffalo Sabres' Jack Eichel (No. 2) last March, the game went into overtime. Eichel had a chance to end it on a breakaway attempt, but he was stopped before McDavid scored at the other end on the next play for the 2-1 win.
On Wednesday, it was Matthews who had the first quality scoring chance in OT, but Jets goaltender Michael Hutchinson made the save. The Jets quickly gained control of the puck and Laine scored on the ensuing play for the victory. Fans at the MTS Centre were chanting "Laine's better!" late in the game. And the Calder Trophy race is on. After four games, Laine has four goals and one assist for five points and is a plus-3. Matthews registered a four-goal game in his NHL debut last week and has since added one assist for five points in three games and is a plus-2. From a personality standpoint, the two top prospects couldn't be more different. Matthews, 19, is more reserved and a bit more calm on and off the ice. Laine, 18, speaks his mind and his confidence is on full display. It wasn't a mistake when he said before the draft that he thought he should go No. 1. He truly believed it and there's good reason for that confidence: At 6-foot-5, 206 pounds and with great hands, Laine is an incredible talent. He's best known for his shooting and pure goal-scoring ability; his dangerous one-timer tied the game on Wednesday. If both players can remain healthy (unlike a season ago when McDavid was limited to 45 games with a broken collarbone), this season's Calder Trophy race should be mind-blowing between Laine and Matthews.
Howard makes a case: Detroit Red Wings veteran goaltender Jimmy Howard played as if he wants the No. 1 job back. He made 32 saves to lead the Wings to a 2-1 win over the New York Rangers on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. It was his first start of the season after Petr Mrazek played the first three games for Detroit. Howard, 32, made a statement for his cause with the effort. It was a game the Rangers should have won, especially considering it was on home ice, but Howard made several timely stops on quality scoring chances to stifle New York's chances. If Howard continues to play like this and accepts his role as the backup, this strong goaltending tandem could pay serious dividends for the Red Wings. Last season, the Red Wings rotated Howard and Mrazek until the end of December. It was a solid tandem. Mrazek played the majority of the games in the second half of the season, but Howard played 10 of the final 11 games of the season entering the playoffs.
After the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated Howard and the Red Wings in the first two games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, Mrazek won Game 3 and earned the No. 1 job back. However, he dropped the next two to end the series. He played well in the World Cup of Hockey for the Czech Republic and has started the regular season as the No. 1. It'll be interesting to see how coach Jeff Blashill handles this situation moving forward, but a strong tandem with Mrazek leading the way should be the plan.