As highly-touted as Patrik Laine was as an NHL prospect, few people could have anticipated he would have this kind of impact, this quickly.

Still just 18 years old, Laine already has 32 goals and 58 points in 58 games and he has been a huge difference-maker for the Jets in his rookie season.

Consider this: When Laine scores at least one goal, the Jets have a record of 17-3-3.

Coincidence?

“No,” says Jets defenceman Paul Postma.

“When you’ve got a guy like that putting the puck in the net, it gives everyone else confidence as well. When he’s scoring, we know we can win games.

“Especially a game like that against Colorado, we get that first one and everyone’s confidence went up and we were on a roll from there.”

Laine scored 4:22 into the first period against Colorado and the Jets went on to win 6-1. It was the sixth time this season he scored the first goal of the game. Early in the year, most of his goals were coming in the third period.

“It’s a big number so normally I just pass it off because I don’t know the answer,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said when asked about the team’s record with Laine finding the net. “It’s just a really good stat. If we can get into the 40-50 range, that would be good wouldn’t it?

“I don’t know why it’s skewed the way it is. At first he was always scoring late, a second-half of the game guy. Now he’s jumping on it early. We just like to encourage it.”

Laine’s goal on Saturday helped energize the building and gave a boost to everyone on the Jets bench. You can feel the electricity at MTS Centre every time Laine touches the puck, especially when it looks like he’s going to get a chance to wind up for a one-timer.

“You tell me,” Maurice said to the assembled media Monday before the Jets took on the San Jose Sharks at MTS Centre. “You sit up there. Is there not a different buzz when he scores than when anybody else does?

“There is something different in the building. When he does that and it changes the buzz. Last game, just because it was a back-to-back and we needed to establish things, him scoring early was really important.”

Laine is second in the league in goals, just two behind Sidney Crosby of the Penguins, who will play in Winnipeg Wednesday night.

He has a chance to win the Maurice Richard Trophy as the league’s top goal-scorer if he keeps it up over his team’s final 16 games. He’s obviously in the running for the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year as well, though he is clearly neck and neck with Toronto’s Auston Matthews, who has 31 goals and 55 points while playing six more games than Laine.

Maurice was asked Monday about a recent Twitter poll conducted by TSN/ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun that had 46,606 respondents and showed 56% would pick Laine over Matthews for the Calder Trophy.

“We just have a lot of computers in Manitoba,” Maurice deadpanned.

Of course, the poll was available to people in Toronto as well as Winnipeg, those in Laine’s home of Finland and in the United States, where Matthews is from.

The actual Calder winner will be picked by media from across the NHL.

“It’s going to be really interesting,” Maurice said. “Being that they play different positions is a factor.

“I watch Toronto play an awful lot. I watch everything about them because I think they’ve done it all just right, handled their kids right. But I’ve never seen a player as young as Patrik, doing the things that he does.

“I’m just so happy I’m going to leave it to you guys.”

Twyman@postemedia.com

Twitter.com/Ted_Wyman