The frustration that gripped Patrik Laine through the opening 12 games of the regular season was not an illusion. Paul Maurice will admit to that.
And it had a lot to do with the 20-year-old's journey back to his Finnish homeland for the NHL's Global Series, pitting the Winnipeg Jets against the Florida Panthers in a pair of games last week.
Laine, his country's most celebrated hockey star, could have wilted under the pressure from the intense focus of fans in Helsinki and the unrelenting demands of the European media.
Of course, quite the opposite occurred.