Jets not focused on win, but next game

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/12/2013 (4308 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Before flying off to Vancouver, the Jets hit the practice ice on Saturday morning following their first home win in over a month. But though there is surely a rise in spirits after a solid victory, head coach Claude Noel said he didn’t focus on that with his team.

“I don’t say too much,” Noel said. “We all have responsibilities. Winning is just a by-product of playing well as a group of 20, and if you can produce and play well as a group of 20, and work hard and perform, the results will follow that. We haven’t had that kind of game that much. We’ve been in and out.”

The Jets now head to Vancouver, where they face the Canucks on Sunday. The Jets haven’t seen much of the ’Nucks in recent years, and not since they installed John Tortorella as coach.

“Vancouver’s a good team, they have a lot of good players, we have to be physical against them,” said defenceman Zach Bogosian, who made his return to the lineup on Friday after sitting out a month with a groin injury.

Captain Andrew Ladd stayed out of Saturday’s practice as a maintenance day, while defenceman Grant Clitsome didn’t skate after missing Friday’s game due to illness. The blueliner is also banged up, Noel said, and noted the team’s physical therapists have really been earning their keep as of late.

“The workload, it’s a lot of games,” Noel said. “You’re always playing, it seems… it’s an Olympic year, they condensed the schedule, and the people who know it are our training staff. There’s a lot of work to do all the time.”