After the 3-2 win against Carolina, one that saw the Jets get through but not without some push from the Hurricanes, the Jets are moving on to New York city to take on the Rangers. Patrik Laine had another sensational effort with 2 goals that Ward still is trying to find. In fact Laine was name the NHL's second star of the week.

With his two goals Laine moved past Steve Yzerman on the list of most goals scored by a teenager in the NHL. Laine is now just 3 goals behind Stamkos and 4 behind Crosby, and 5 behind Brian Bellows for third overall. To say he's heated up is not so much an understatement as it is missing what he's done differently in recent weeks.

Laine, while hardly a run of the mill talent, still has much to learn with the game and he takes his effort and results very seriously. As many have pointed out before, Laine is his own harshest critic and that's a positive trait about him.

However, what has changed? Against Detroit Laine had one of his best games away from scoring goals, and he did that too. His work along the boards was better than it's been in ages and he had the results on the score sheet to show that he was indeed effective.

The other thing that seems to be slowly disappearing from his game is the tendency to try and dangle/deke his way out of trouble or his way to the net. He's moving the puck better along the board and through the offensive zone rather than trying to get to his preferred scoring position by faking players out.

Let's be clear Laine has those tools in his tool box, however he doesn't need to use them all the time. One thing for sure is his feet often don't catch up to his hands when starting from a dead stop in the offensive zone. Laine is not going to beat anyone in the first few strides of a skating race but he can quietly find the sweet spot without the puck as his line mates usually draw a fair amount of attention on their own. He's now finding the openings and the first goal against Carolina was a prime example of that type of play- moved in then out and got the pass from Ehlers and scored.

To do the above means he has to drop the often sensational moves that just as often not yield the results he wants, now due to the way defenders are playing him. That's his evolution as a player and the interesting part is he's not even through his sophomore season and it's already happening. To say that Laine is not a special talent is simply a gross understatement and to watch his development in the latter half of this season reaffirms what many had known about the young lanky Finn.

Tonight the Jets appear in the world's greatest entertainment centre- Madison Square Garden. I made my first trip there this past fall and fell in love with the old barn that has undergone a huge renovation in the last 3 years. To say they do it right there is a mild understatement. Hopefully a few days in the big apple has not affected the focus of the Jets.

Steve Mason has joined the team after playing for the Moose on the weekend and Michael Hutchinson has been reassigned to the Moose. According to Ken Wiebe's tweet today it appears Mason gets the start and I would expect the rotation to go like this:

NYR- Mason
NJD- Hellebuyck
PHI- Hellebuyck
WAS- Mason
NAS-Hellebuyck

As for the rest of the roster Wiebe also reported that there would be no changes so that means Enstrom and Tanev are both still watching and waiting and with the way the team has managed Maurice can afford to be cautious.

Finally the NHL made it official that the Jets and Panthers with the two biggest stars from Finland will play two games there next season. Road trip anyone?

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