Jets aim to simplify and get back to winning

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This article was published 30/01/2015 (3936 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A tough road swing through Pennsylvania this week has the once red-hot Winnipeg Jets suddenly mired in a two-game losing streak and talking about a need to get back to basics.

And that begins with Winnipeg’s top line of Andrew Ladd-Bryan Little-Blake Wheeler, who were held off the scoresheet in losses this week to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers.

Wheeler said Friday morning following an optional skate at MTS Centre that his line might have gotten a little complacent after a high-scoring run that led into the All-Star break. “We kind of went through a stretch where we scored a bunch of goals and so I think we were feeling a little bit good about ourselves and it kind of got us away from what’s given us success,” Wheeler told reporters.

“I think it’s just simplifying. The goals are going to come but we really need to work hard on the other end of the ice to eliminate those rushes we’ve been giving up.”

Jets head coach Paul Maurice says a two-game scoring slump is no reason to push the panic button on his most productive line — Ladd, Little and Wheeler are 1-2-3 in scoring for the Jets respectively this season.

“Two games is not a big enough sample to say they’re out of sorts,” said Maurice.

But Maurice also agreed with Wheeler’s self-assessment and the need to get back to the simpler style of play that gave the line so much success prior to the break.

“There’s a mentality you get when you feel good that every time you get the puck you can do something special with it,” said Maurice. “But 85 per cent of the game is not played (that way). It’s just a grind and then you try and finish on some chances that you get and create.

“We were trying to do more than we needed to do with the puck.”

The Jets play the Dallas Stars Saturday evening at MTS Centre before embarking on a two-game Pacific Conference road swing that will see them play two games in two nights — Monday night versus the Flames in Calgary and Tuesday night in Vancouver against the Canucks. The Jets have just a 4-6-2 record against the Pacific this season and are the only team in the Central Division with a losing record against the Pacific.

Maurice said his team came out of their Pennsylvania road swing healthy and he expects his full roster to be available to him against Dallas.

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However, just hours after Maurice made that pronouncement, the Jets announced they had placed forward Matt Halischuk on injured reserve and recalled TJ Galiardi from the St. John’s IceCaps.

The recall of Galiardi came just hours after the club announced Galiardi had cleared waivers and been assigned to their AHL affiliate in St. John’s.

email: paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @PaulWiecek