Red Wings, Jets Nab NHL Victories

By ESPN

 Jimmy Howard's coach couldn't stop raving about the goaltender's performance.

"Jimmy stole the game," Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said of Howard, whose 32-save effort led the Red Wings to a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Wednesday night. "Jimmy had one of the best performances I've seen out of any goalie at any level."

After beginning the season with two straight losses, the Red Wings have won consecutive games.

Thomas Vanek and Drew Miller scored for Detroit, which improved to 2-2-0, and it has Howard to thank for their latest win as New York had the better of play for wide stretches. The Rangers outshot Detroit 33-18 and Howard was forced into making highlight reel stops to keep the Red Wings in the game.

"We can't play like this if we want to win," Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg said. "We found a way to win."

Even after spotting the Rangers a quick lead.

New York led 1-0 as Mika Zibanejad redirected Ryan McDonagh's slap shot from the right point past Howard 1:09 into the game. The Rangers carried the 1-0 lead into the first intermission, following an opening 20 minutes in which they outshot the Red Wings 14-7.

Jets 5, Maple Leafs 4

Rookie Patrik Laine got the last laugh in his anticipated showdown with Auston Matthews, then cracked a joke or two after.

Laine completed a hat trick 2:40 into overtime, helping the Winnipeg Jets overcome a four-goal deficit to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4 on Wednesday night.

Laine got the better of his first head-to-head matchup against fellow rookie Matthews, tying the game with 55 seconds left in the third before winning it in overtime. The confident Finn went second overall in the 2016 draft behind Matthews, despite Laine's public insistence he should have gone first.

"I think it was just a normal regular season game," Laine said with a chuckle.

Laine got his third goal with a wrist shot on a 2-on-1 rush. He swooped behind the net with his arms raised after scoring, and his teammates hopped on the ice to celebrate while hats poured down from the stands.

Laine has four goals on the season, tying Matthews and three others for the NHL lead.

Fans chanted "Laine better" during the game, music to the rookie's young ears.

"Yeah, I heard something and that sounds pretty good," Laine said. "That's their opinion and I'm not going to say anything about that."

Wednesday, October 19  Scoreboard

Detroit 2, New York Rangers 1

Winnipeg 5, Toronto 4 (OT)

Thursday, October 20 Schedule (All Times Central)

New Jersey at Boston, 6 p.m.

Anaheim at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.

San Jose at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m.

Arizona at Montreal, 6:30 p.m.

Colorado at Tampa Bay, 6:30 p.m.

Washington at Florida, 6:30 p.m.

Toronto at Minnesota, 7 p.m.

Los Angeles at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.

Carolina at Calgary, 8 p.m.

St. Louis at Edmonton, 8 p.m.

Buffalo at Vancouver, 9 p.m.

Friday, October 21 Schedule (All Times Central)

Arizona at New York Islanders, 6 p.m.

Chicago at Columbus, 6 p.m.

Nashville at Detroit, 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, October 22 Schedule (All Times Central)

Montreal at Boston, 6 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Ottawa, 6 p.m.

San Jose at Detroit, 6 p.m.

Colorado at Florida, 6 p.m.

Minnesota at New Jersey, 6 p.m.

Carolina at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.

New York Rangers at Washington, 6 p.m.

Toronto at Chicago, 6 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Nashville, 7 p.m.

Columbus at Dallas, 7 p.m.

St. Louis at Calgary, 9 p.m.

Vancouver at Los Angeles, 9 p.m.

Sunday, October 23 Schedule (All Times Central)

Edmonton at Winnipeg, 2 p.m.

Minnesota at New York Islanders, 5 p.m.

Arizona at New York Rangers, 6 p.m.

Vancouver at Anaheim, 7 p.m.