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Rookie edged by Big Buff in hardest-shot event
Patrik Laine came oh so close Friday to sweeping the shooting events at the Winnipeg Jets Skills Competition.
The 18-year-old Finn, who leads NHL rookies with 17 goals, dominated the accuracy event, but was edged by teammate Dustin Byfuglien — 101.3 m.p.h. to 101.2 m.ph. — in the hardest shot competition.
Did he consider borrowing Byfuglien’s stick to get an edge?
"No, I think it’s too stiff for me — I think I would’ve cracked my hands," said Laine, who uses a stick with an 87 flex rating, considerably more whippy than Byfuglien’s 122 flex model.