More than a quarter of the way into the 2016 season Patrik Laine has been the clear leader amongst rookies. His 17 goals trail only Sidney Crosby and David Pastrnak for the league lead, and his play has helped Winnipeg get on the scoreboard many times this season. Unfortunately, on Sunday night, Patrik Laine scored one of those great goals on his own net.
The big play occurred in the third period of a tie game against the Edmonton Oilers. With just under nine minutes left to play, Mark Letestu received a pass from Connor McDavid, skated across the blue line and into the Jets zone, and then unleashed a heavy slapshot.
Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made a big save on the shot, however, he let up an even bigger rebound after the puck bounced off his goal pads. In what normally would be excellent luck, the puck bounced right out to Laine’s stick. Unfortunately, Laine got a bit caught up in the moment and fired the puck right past Hellebuyck and into the back of the net.
While Patrik Laine is sure to score many more goals throughout his NHL career, this one will definitely be remembered as one of the ugliest.
