Matthews vs. Laine proves appealing to NBC

The last time Mike Emrick broadcast a game in Winnipeg was Dec. 29, 1995. It was the New Jersey Devils against the former Winnipeg Jets. Eddie Olczyk scored a power-play goal for the Jets that night.

Nearly 23 years later, Emrick and Olzcyk are together again in Winnipeg, this time to broadcast the game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Jets at Bell MTS Place on "Wednesday Night Hockey" (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN1, SN360, TVAS).
This will be NBC's first time both producing and televising a regular-season game between two teams from Canada across the United States. They have in the past televised outdoor games between two Canadian teams, but those games were produced by Sportsnet.
Why go the distance now with the Maple Leafs and Jets?
The answer: Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine, two of the several potential generational young stars in the NHL today who are allowing, if not entirely forcing, NBC to expand its coverage beyond the U.S. border.

"We want everybody to see how dynamic these players are," said former NHL player and current NBC analyst Jeremy Roenick, who will be on set outside the arena with Kathryn Tappen and Keith Jones for pregame, postgame and between periods analysis. "It's a great thing."
Matthews, Toronto's 6-foot-3, 223-pound, 21-year-old center, and Laine, the Jets' 6-5, 206-pound, 20-year-old right wing were the first and second picks, respectively, in the 2016 NHL Draft.
This is the fifth time they've played against each other. Matthews has eight points (one goal, seven assists) and Laine has six points (five goals, one assist) in the head-to-head matchups. The Jets and Maple Leafs are each 2-1-1.
"These are guys you have to watch at all times," said Brian Boucher, a former NHL goalie who will be between the benches for the broadcast. "I would say Matthews is a superstar right now and Laine is on the cusp of being a superstar. They're both just awesome players and guys that drive the offenses for their teams."
Who is the more exciting player, though? That's another one of the great hockey debates going on in circles across the NHL these days.
Roenick and Boucher were each asked that exact question. Neither hesitated to respond with Matthews, whose 16 points (10 goals, six assists) are tied with Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen and Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron for first in the NHL.
"It's not even close because he does so many more things on the ice," Roenick said. "If you're a hockey connoisseur and know the game, he does so many more things that impress you. Things like the way that he hounds the puck, his positional play, his defense, how much and how hard he works on defense, his commitment to a real team structure, his professionalism in the way he scores goals and goes back to center ice and isn't overly flamboyant, and his ability to score in a lot of different ways."

Roenick called Laine an opportunist, whereas Matthews is a creator.
"I say that meaning a lot of [Laine's] goals will come off power plays, off really nice feeds," Roenick said. "They're both so dynamic in what they bring, but in just watching the opportunist that Laine is reminds me of Alex Ovechkin. I think he relies more on the passer rather a guy who can get the puck himself and score a goal himself like Matthews can."
Boucher cited Matthews because of his size, intelligence and craftiness.
"He doesn't work for no reason," Boucher said. "Really, for a young guy he manages his energy level throughout the game so well. That to me is really impressive. Not everybody wins that puck battle. He does. He stays with it. And then he's got a tremendous release off the rush. I just love a big body like that that can handle the puck, that can shoot it the way he does and drive the offense. I think he has more of an impact just because he's a center versus a winger."
However, Boucher and Roenick agreed it's a matter of time before Laine, who has five points (three points, two assists) through nine games, has his first breakout performance of the season, especially since he's averaging four shots on goal per game and shooting 8.3 percent, nearly 10 percent off his NHL career shooting percentage (18.0 percent) entering the season.
"[The pass] doesn't have to be perfect for him," Boucher said. "He's able to make an adjustment and get something off to the point where he gets enough on it. If he's doing that, then you've got to imagine that percentage is going to go up."
They also agreed it could happen against the Maple Leafs, who are 21st in goals against per game (3.33).
"Laine said when Matthews got drafted that he was a better player, that he should have gone No. 1," Roenick said. "It's that competitive mentality. I was like that when I played against [Mike] Modano, against [Sergei] Fedorov. These were the guys that I battled against and I didn't want to lose. I always upped my game against them. I'm sure these guys are just the same."