Jets trying to see the bright side of last-minute loss, keeping eyes on playoffs

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This article was published 29/03/2015 (3838 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On a tough night to take if you were in the Winnipeg Jets’ quarters late evening, netminder Ondrej Pavelec was a rational voice in the aftermath of a stinging defeat.

Disappointed, but rational.

“I think we played a really good game,” Pavelec said after the Hawks clipped the Jets 4-3 on Jonathan Toews’ deflection with 30.8 seconds left in regulation time. “It’s a tough break for us, the last minute again, but yeah, overall, we played a very good game.

“A lot of good scoring chances on both sides. We were good on the power play and good on the penalty kill and it’s a tough loss.

“But you know, heads up. Tomorrow’s another day.”

The Hawks were credited with only 24 shots on goal to the Jets’ 34, but they took advantage of those shots.

Three of Chicago’s goals — by Andrew Shaw, Brad Richards and Toews in the end —originated by shots from the point.

“They’re good,” Pavelec said. “They’re good in front of the net. They have really good defencemen and they can put it on net. It doesn’t have to be a hard shot.

“We played a good game. Too bad we got zero points.”

Pavelec lost for the first time in seven starts, falling to 19-15-7.

•••

If you’ve got the notion that there is much jockeying and worrying about placements for the Stanley Cup playoffs, you picked the wrong two teams to ask about it on Sunday.

Quizzed about continuing to eye a higher wild-card spot or Central Division position, Jets coach Paul Maurice said this Sunday morning:

“The only advantage is being in the top eight because after that, what’s the door prize for finishing first overall? You get Chicago or L.A. I mean, be careful of what you wish for in this league.

“We want to get in, we don’t care who we play. I don’t if changing spots, changing seeds, increases your chances of moving on past the first round one bit. There’s going to be eight great teams that make the playoffs and a handful of other really good teams that didn’t and darn well expect to the next year. I really haven’t spent any time trying to process the what ifs, certainly not with seven games left on the schedule.”

The tightness of the race in both conferences is much more dramatic than last season’s spread-out standings at the end. It’s just 15 points between Anaheim and Winnipeg today.

“Parity,” said Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville. “You start off at the beginning of the year (asking) who’s going to make the playoffs and who’s not and you’ll probably look at this year and look at our division and say, ‘Who’s going to be out?’ You’re probably thinking right now that’s how close it is, that anybody could have made the playoffs and had 90 points, in our division, which is obviously the toughest one in the league.

“It shows that there’s a lot of good teams, a lot of good ones out west, a lot of parity throughout the league. Anybody can beat anybody on a given night. You’ve got to be at your best and you’ve got to earn your own points. But the league’s probably never been more equal, basically parity couldn’t be any tighter.”

•••

Thursday marked the return of defenceman Dustin Byfuglien, who has scored three goals in two games.

Sunday saw forward Mathieu Perreault return after a 16-game absence.

It sounds very much like No. 1 centre Bryan Little is next, possibly on the ice Tuesday against the New York Rangers.

Jets coach Paul Maurice indicated on the weekend that Little (upper-body) is close, as is defenceman Ben Chiarot, who’s been out with a broken hand. He also said he’d be reluctant to have two players return to the lineup at once after being out for a long stretch, so it’s looking like more regulars are on their way back to the lineup this week.

 

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca