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Jets left high and dry in desert

By: Tim Campbell

Posted: 10/15/2011 3:52 PM | Comments: 0 | Last Modified: 10/15/2011 10:36 PM | Updates

Winnipeg Jets' Zach Bogosian clears Phoenix Coyotes' Boyd Gordon from the front of the net at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Ariz., Saturday. (JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store

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Jets fans from Winnipeg show their passion outside of the Jobing.com Arena in Glendlae, Ariz., Saturday prior to the start of the NHL game between the Winnipeg Jets and the Phoenix Coyotes. (JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store

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Jets fan Rosario Cesairo from Winnipeg runs with a Jets flag outside the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Ariz., Saturday prior to the start of the NHL game between the Winnipeg Jets and the Phoenix Coyotes. (JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Winnipeg Jets have taken off into turbulent air and it’s going to take a lot more than buckling a few seat belts to get through it.

"I’m not frustrated," Jets coach Claude Noel said after a one-sided 4-1 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes Saturday at Jobing.com Arena, his team’s third loss in as many outings to start Winnipeg’s comeback NHL season. "I’m disappointed. I’m not sure what it is we’re waiting for right now. It looks like our team thinks we have a free pass to fail. I’m not sure what the wake-up call is."

Along with disappointed, Noel was at times cranky and at times critical of his team after Saturday’s defeat. The Jets were outshot 35-19 and their special teams were again a huge liability.

Winnipeg has not scored a power-play goal this season and it has permitted one in each game so far.

"It’s all information; it tells us a lot of different things," Noel said. "This is hammering some things home. We’ve got a franchise that’s not used to winning and it shows. This group has gone into a market that is frenzied for winning and they’ve decided that this is what they’re going to show them."

Saturday, Noel decided it was time for backup goalie Chris Mason to take the net. Ondrej Pavelec was less than stellar in the first two losses.

After a whiffed clear by defenceman Dustin Byfuglien, Mason was scored on just 34 seconds into the game, and it went downhill from there.

"No reservations about going in," Mason said after the game. "As a team we would definitely have liked a better performance tonight. We’re just going through a tough time.

"We had a lot of build-up before the season, being excited about being back in Winnipeg and all that, and I think maybe the hockey got overshadowed a little bit and we’re kind of finding out the hard way right now."

The hard way has certainly revealed many things.

For instance, though team captain Andrew Ladd scored his first goal of the season on a late second-period deflection, the team’s No. 1 line has not done much and top centre Bryan Little remains pointless.

"I’m trying to find his A game," Noel said pointedly. "I haven’t seen it. I’m looking for it. I hope he’s looking for it."

The coach wasn’t interested in discussing Daymond Langkow’s early goal, a marker several Jets players called a mental setback.

"I don’t know that it was," Noel said. "You’re assuming that. It could have been if you’re looking for an excuse. It would be yours, not mine."

Jets defenceman Ron Hainsey, a plus-one on the night, said the team’s consistency is lacking.

"Last game (in Chicago) we got off to a great start and didn’t do well holding it," he said. "Tonight we didn’t get off to a great start and didn’t play well with the three power plays (in the first period) coming back.

"It’s not really a consistent theme, but one consistent thing is we haven’t scored on the power play yet and that’s a thing we have to be looking to improve on. If we just get one coming out of that period, we’re back in it."

Noel said after the game that nothing he’s seen so far as told him the team has overlooked something in preparation for the season.

"I wouldn’t change anything," he said about the team’s training camp. "Have I overlooked anything? I thought when I was watching tape that I had a decent handle on players. Some surprised me, some didn’t.

"These results are a little bit strange but we’re going to see what we are. I’m finding out what we are right now and I’m wondering some things just like you guys are.

"I’ve done different things button-wise. The process continues."

The process, the coach said, could mean a previously unscheduled practice today, before the Jets meet Pittsburgh at the MTS Centre on Monday night.

"I’d be a fool to think that one day of practice is going to change things," he said. "I need to make sure we’re prepared to play the next game versus Pittsburgh."

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca

History

Updated on Saturday, October 15, 2011 at 6:25 PM CDT: Early score

6:31 PM: New head, Yotes score.

6:36 PM: Updated

6:51 PM: Period over.

6:54 PM: Story updated

7:32 PM: Update

7:38 PM: Update

7:42 PM: Jets score

7:46 PM: Jets score

8:15 PM: Update with 4-1 score

8:41 PM: Game over.

8:45 PM: Update with final score.

9:27 PM: Changed headline

10:17 PM: Final web update.

10:36 PM: Final write-thru

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