WINNIPEG -- In a sea of thousands of white-clad fans and flashing red goal lights, Winnipeg Jets forward Patrik Laine could be forgiven for feeling a bit blue.
There have been 25 goals scored in the first three games of the Western Conference Second Round between the Jets and Nashville Predators, with Winnipeg holding a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series.
But none of the Jets' 15 goals have been scored by Laine, the second-year forward who was second in the NHL with 44 goals this season, five behind Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin.
The 20-year-old from Tampere, Finland, would love nothing more than to reverse that trend, beginning with Game 4 at Bell MTS Place on Thursday (9:30 p.m. ET; CBC, NBCSN, TVAS).
Laine has had chances, with 17 shots on goal in three games against Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne and three assists.
"[Rinne] is a good goalie," said Laine, who has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his first eight Stanley Cup Playoff games, with the goals in his first two games in the first round against the Minnesota Wild. "It's not easy to score on him, and I think he knows what I'm trying to do, and I'm usually trying to figure out what he's going to do. It's usually tough to score on him.
"It's a good thing all the other guys are scoring so we're getting the wins. I'm trying to find a way to put the puck behind him. Maybe even the next game. ... I'm just trying to shoot as many pucks as I can. I know when you work hard you're eventually going to get rewarded. That's pretty much my mindset."
Jets coach Paul Maurice didn't appear to be concerned. He told a story he shared many times during Laine's first NHL training camp in 2016 when the rookie hit a lot of posts and missed a lot of shots one day at practice. Laine was hard on himself that day -- "Talking to himself in Finnish," Maurice said -- because his expectations are so high.
"I thought I'd correct him on it," Maurice said Wednesday. "Then he scored about nine straight in the next practice, so I never said a word to him about it. He's getting his shots. They'll go for him at some point."
Defenseman Josh Morrissey praised Laine for more than just his shot.
"He's been playing outstanding," Morrissey said. "Look at the chances he's had, posts, and Rinne made a great glove save on him in the second period there. I think he's going to be breaking out any time soon. But there's so much more to his game, and his game has developed so much that he's excellent at a lot of other things as well."
Laine had eight shots on goal in Game 3, tied with Blake Wheeler for most among the Jets in a 7-4 win Tuesday. Laine also had three missed shots, including one off the post in the third period, to give him 11 attempts in 17:30 of ice time.
Laine made a cross-ice pass to defenseman Dustin Byfuglien for Winnipeg's fourth goal of the second period, which gave the Jets their first lead of the game, 4-3 at 19:15.
In Game 2 on Sunday, Laine had seven shots on goal and 14 attempts, including a first-period shot off the right post behind Rinne. Nashville won the game 5-4 in the second overtime.
He assisted on center Mark Scheifele's power-play goal at 13:16 of the first period, which gave Winnipeg a 2-1 lead.
In the first period of Game 3, Laine resorted to a bit of trickery to try to score his first of the series. In the neutral zone, he wound up to shoot the puck around the rim, then quickly changed his angle and shot it at the net. Rinne had to be alert to change his direction, return to his crease and make a sharp left-pad save.
"I know he's an active goalie and he's always trying to stop the rim, so that's a good way to try to score once in a while," Laine said. "He made a nice save on that. I think that was my first try [to score like that], a very good first try. I don't know why I did that. I just figured I had to try it. It would have been a nice goal, maybe next time."
Laine said the come-from-behind win in Game 3 was a unique experience in front of the whiteout at Bell MTS Place, particularly when the Jets came back with three goals in 2:51 to tie the game early in the second period.
"Every game is so different," Laine said. "Like when we tied it yesterday, the place exploded. I've never heard anything like that before. It's just awesome to play here and see and hear the fans every day. It's pretty unique."
The drama and momentum swings of the past two games of the series have taught Laine to sharpen his focus on the moment at hand.
"Maybe it doesn't matter if you're down 3-0 after the first, you can still win the game," he said. "Momentum is going to change many times during the game and there are a lot of things that can happen. Just to remember to stay with it and play your game for 60 minutes and you'll always have a chance to win."
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