Patrik Laine smiling, joking but still in concussion recovery

Things are looking a lot better forWinnipeg Jets' superstar rookie Patrik Laine since he was helped off the ice with a throbbing head and concussion after being crushed in a game on Saturday.

"He had a big smile on his face yesterday," Jets head coach Paul Maurice told reporters on Monday. "He's in the room, smiling, giggling, taking shots from the guys.

"He seems good."

But Maurice would not give a hint as to when the rookie phenom 37 points this season (21 goals, 16 assists) to lead all NHL rookies might move beyond the dressing room and join his teammates on the ice again.

There is no minimum timeline on when he'll return andMaurice won't be providing daily updates on Laine's condition, either.

"I won't be giving you a daily temperature reading," he told reporters after being asked if Laine is symptom-free.

• Patrik Laine injured, Jets blow 2-goal lead against Sabres
• Jets' Patrik Laine out with concussion, no timetable for return

Like two freight trains colliding head-on, Laine and Buffalo Sabres' defencemanJake McCabe smashed helmets in a mid-ice wreck during the third period of the game.

"Both men were potentially in jeopardy of suffering the same injury. It was just a full-on, face-first collision," Maurice said.

Big men. Small space. High speed.

McCabe is 6-foot-1 and 209 pounds. Laine is6-foot-5 and 206 pounds.

Lainewent down while McCabe had to fend off fists from the Jets who came to his defence.

Maurice has said the hit was clean and he has no problem with it. It's one of the consequences of the game.

Jets on Patrik Laine concussion

8 years ago

Duration 2:00

Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice and players discuss Patrik Laine's open-ice hitand concussion.

"I think we're doing everything we possibly can to take care of these players and their heads," he said, when asked about concerns the NHL needs to do more to protect against concussions.

"This is a fairly fast game with big men in a confined area. There's going to be collisions.

"I don't think it's anything to mandated out [by the league]. It's part of the game."

The type of mid-ice crash that shook Buffalo's KeyBank Center is actually rare, Maurice added. Most hits will happen along the boards and in the corners, but those on the open can be costly for any playerwho tries to execute them.

Thetarget, the player carrying the puck, is moving quickly. If the hit isn't timed perfectly right, the player lining up to make the hit will get sidestepped and left behind, giving the opposing team an odd-man rush.

"You don't see that type of hit very often, for good reason. It's very, very difficult to time that they way it was timed [on Saturday]," Maurice said.