"Oh, he wants to play," Maurice said. "We'll give him the afternoon to make sure it continues to go in the direction it's going. He was pretty direct with me about his ability to play tonight.
"There are certain players that you have to pull out of the lineup, that will tell you they can play when you can clearly see on the ice they're not moving the way they're supposed to move. And some of the best performances [in the Stanley Cup] playoffs are [from] players who are injured. Doctors said if he can handle it, he'll go.
"That was his best morning skate of the year, I'll guarantee you that."
Maurice had said Thursday he expected Laine to miss games against the Ducks and the Nashville Predators on Sunday, but Laine said Friday he did not feel any discomfort during the morning skate.
"It was OK," Laine said. "It's hard to say without your skate on, how it feels. I mean, it was better than it was a couple days ago but it's a hard to say.
"I can still skate. That's not an issue. It just feels better in your skate instead of just walking around with your shoe on. So I'm satisfied with that.
"If it's hurting before the game, it's not smart to play. I mean, if it feels good and it's not hurting, then we're going to talk with the coach [about] what he thinks and what's smart, but I don't know now."
Laine has 68 points (43 goals, 25 assists) in 73 games this season. He is second in the NHL in goals, behind Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin (44).
The No. 2 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, Laine has 132 points (79 goals, 53 assists) in 146 games with Winnipeg.
The Jets (44-19-10) are in second place in the Central Division, eight points behind the Predators and eight points ahead of the Minnesota Wild.
NHL.com correspondent Scott Billeck contributed to this report.
