Laine reaches 20th birthday with third-highest career goal total for a teen

Patrik Laine had many reasons to celebrate on Thursday.

The Winnipeg Jets winger turned 20, and reached the milestone with the third-most regular-season goals ever scored by teenager at the NHL level.

With 80 goals through 155 games as a teen, Laine is behind only Jimmy Carson, who scored 92 for the Los Angeles Kings (1986-88), and Dale Hawerchuk, who recorded 85 for the original Jets (1981-83), according to Tim Campbell of NHL.com.

With 54 assists, Laine's 134 points are also the ninth most in NHL history among players before turning 20.

"I'm happy with my numbers as a teenager," Laine said. "Now I'm disappointed that it's over but I'm happy what I was able to do before my 20th birthday. It's nice to be here."

Laine's Jets hold a 3-1 series lead over Minnesota heading into Friday's Game 5, and the Finn has contributed two goals and two assists in four playoff games.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *