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Jets' Maurice: No problem with hit that injured Laine

Timothy T. Ludwig / USA Today Sports

The result was unfortunate, but, in hindsight, the Winnipeg Jets aren't complaining about a hit levied by Buffalo's Jake McCabe that caused Patrik Laine to be sidelined indefinitely with a concussion.

"It's an awfully hard hit," head coach Paul Maurice said Sunday, per Tim Campbell of NHL.com. "Those happen in the games. It wasn't dirty.

"I don't have a problem with the hit," he continued. "When two big men get together at that pace, there's going to be some collateral damage. The hits they're talking about getting out of the game are blind-side hits, elbows to the head, people coming off their feet to drive into it. It's a very unfortunate result and we're hoping to get (Laine) back healthy here but there's no issues with it."

The Jets reacted differently in the moment, of course, with a line brawl being sparked by the open-ice hit.

Laine was able to watch practice Sunday, but there's no timetable for his return to the lineup.

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