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Bryan Little lifts Winnipeg Jets past St. Louis Blues in OT

By Joe Harris, The Sports Xchange
Winnipeg Jets Patrik Laine (R) is congratulated by teammate Bryan Little after scoring a goal in the second period against the St. Louis Blues at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis on December 3, 2016. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
1 of 3 | Winnipeg Jets Patrik Laine (R) is congratulated by teammate Bryan Little after scoring a goal in the second period against the St. Louis Blues at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis on December 3, 2016. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

ST. LOUIS -- Winnipeg's Patrik Laine has made quite a first impression through the first 27 games of his NHL career.

The rookie right winger for the Jets announced his presence with authority against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night. Laine scored a goal and assisted on center Bryan Little's game-winner in overtime as the Jets beat the Blues 3-2.

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Right winger Chris Thorburn also scored and goalie Michael Hutchinson made 20 saves as the Jets snapped a six-game road losing streak.

"It's really, really good that we finally got to win on the road," Laine said. "You can't always play at home so you have to win on the road, so that was a good win, but tomorrow we have a good challenge (against Chicago) and hopefully we can win that too."

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Left winger Alexander Steen and right winger Dmitrij Jaskin scored for the Blues and goalie Carter Hutton made 20 saves.

Little scored 17 seconds into overtime on a 2-on-1 with Laine, who got his seventh assist on the winner.

"I thought it was a typical game against St. Louis," Little said. "It was hard-fought. It was physical. It was a game that could have gone either way in overtime, but I thought we worked hard and were able to come out with it."

Steen said a miscommunication with teammate right winger Vladimir Tarasenko led to the goal.

"Vladi and I got a little mixed up in the front and gave them a little bit of space up front," Steen said. "They made a nice play back door."

Even with the loss, St. Louis extended its home points streak to 11 games. The Blues are 11-1-3 at Scottrade Center this season.

Blues coach Ken Hitchcock was not happy with the effort as St. Louis played its fourth game of a five-game homestand.

"I think it's a buildup from being here too long," Hitchcock said. "We look like a distracted team again. We look like a team that's won a lot of hockey games and wanted things to be a little easier, and you get that sometimes."

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The Blues also have points in 15 of their 16 games against the Jets since they moved to Winnipeg.

Thorburn scored a short-handed goal with 7:33 left in the first period to give the Jets a 1-0 lead. Tarasenko fanned on a shot, allowing Jets right winger Blake Wheeler and Thorburn to have a 2-on-1 break. Wheeler's saucer pass allowed Thorburn to tap it into an open net.

It was Winnipeg's fourth short-handed goal of the season and its first since Nov. 8.

"We got effort and zone time and the penalty kill was outstanding," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "For the most part there is not much I can complain about in that game."

Steen tied the game early in the second period with his 200th career goal. Steen ripped a slap shot from the left dot for his third goal of the season and first since Oct. 22.

Two minutes later, Jaskin gave the Blues a 2-1 lead at the 7:26 mark with his first goal of the season.

Laine tied it at 9:18, scoring his fourth goal in his last three games. The goal was Laine's 16th of the season and moved him into a tie for the NHL lead with Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby.

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Laine's 16 goals are the most by a teenage rookie in his team's first 27 games of the season since Joe Sakic scored 16 for the Quebec Nordiques in the 1988-1989 season.

"He's a good player," Hitchcock said. "He's a great player. He's got speed. He's got size. He's got moxie on the ice. He's got gamesmanship. He's a hell of a player."

The Blues went 0-for-4 on the power play after scoring three with the man advantage against Tampa Bay on Thursday.

"The game just really wasn't consistent," Jaskin said. "We had (three) power plays in the first period and it's hard to get into the game and everything was kind of bouncing and it really wasn't going well."

Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo left the game early in the second period with a lower body injury and did not return. He is day-to-day.

NOTES: Blues C Jori Lehtera is a healthy scratch for the first time in his three-year career. Lehtera has three goals and four assists in 20 games this season. He was replaced by RW Nail Yakupov, who has two goals and three assists in 16 games. ... RW Patrik Laine's two power play goals Thursday broke a three-game drought with the man advantage for the Jets. ... C Kyle Brodziak dressed for his 100th game as a member of the Blues against the Jets. ... The Jets travel to Chicago on Sunday for the second of back-to-back games. The Blues wrap up their five-game homestand against Montreal on Tuesday.

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