Laine's must-see goal a good sign for Blue Jackets

All the four other Blue Jackets on the ice had to do Wednesday night was watch as Patrik Laine scored one of the goals of the year - and yes, we'll call it that, even in the preseason.
Luckily enough, that meant they had a front-row seat to the magic.

Skating back into his own zone on the power play late in the win over the Red Wings, Laine took a drop pass from Zach Werenski then did it all from there, turning a 3-2 lead into a 4-2 victory with the late tally.
Once he got the puck, the Finnish star skated through the circle in the defensive zone and cut up the ice, gaining speed. As he crossed first the blue line, then the center red line, he breezed past forechecker Joe Veleno, then neared a wall of three Detroit defenders as he hit the offensive zone.
That didn't matter, though, as Laine went right at the middle man, highly touted young defender Moritz Seider. As Seider went for the poke check, Laine took the puck on his forehand and quickly switched it to his backhand, turning his back to the Wings defenseman and cutting past him as Seider got his feet tangled up underneath him.
From there, it was too late for the other defenders, leaving Laine alone with goalie Alex Nedeljkovic. And that's a tough spot for a goalie to be in, as Laine calmly got to the front of the net, put the puck on his forehead and flipped it past the glove of Nedeljkovic.

It was eerily reminiscent of his wondergoal a season ago vs. Chicago, and another moment that left his CBJ teammates shaking their heads.
"When I got back to the bench, (defenseman Jake Bean) said it was probably one of the coolest goals he's ever seen," Werenski said. "Probably one of the coolest goals I've ever seen, too."
So which one was better -- the goal last season vs. Chicago or this tally?
"That's really close," Werenski said. "I like the finish on this one better. The little chip shot over the glove was pretty cool."
However you slice it, it might show that the Blue Jackets are getting a Patrik Laine who is ready to assert himself as one of the NHL's top goal scorers after a disappointing 10-goal, 21-point debut in 45 games with Columbus a year ago.
It's not just the goal -- or his 2-3-5 line in three preseason games thus far -- that has the team excited, though. Head coach Brad Larsen said Laine has answered the bell this camp and, with chemistry with new acquisition Jakub Voracek building, appears ready for a bounceback campaign.

"I have seen a different guy. You can feel it," Larsen said after the game. "What impressed me is early in the second period there when we had a breakdown … he busted his hump from the top of the circle and ended up breaking up the play at the goalmouth. Those are the things, being the player that wants to play all the minutes, playing against top guys, you're going to have to see effort like that, and he's been giving it.
"He's had a great camp, for me. He worked at it this summer. He got himself in better shape, and he has a little chip on his shoulder. He wants to prove to everybody that he still has a lot of game. And he's a young man still. He really has had so much success, young, that it's scary to think that he's as young as he still is. There's a lot of growth left, but I've been really impressed with how he's been handling it."
Laine, 23, notched a career-high 44 goals and 70 points in 2017-18 and was traded to Columbus early last season along with Jack Roslovic for Pierre-Luc Dubois after posting a 140-110-250 line in 306 games with Winnipeg.
He
told reporters earlier this camp
that he doesn't feel like he has to prove that he's still one of the NHL's best top goal scorers, but he does want to keep getting better each year. So far, it appears the chemistry is building with Voracek both at 5-on-5 and on the power play, with Columbus' top unit notching five man-up goals in the last two games.
"It's obviously been fun to play with him and trying to build chemistry," Laine said. "We're still learning about each other, how we play, and obviously with him you always have to be ready to shoot when you're in the offensive zone. You have to try to find him and let him do what he does best, and the same with me. I feel like we've been clicking pretty well."