Jets now tackle Manhattan project

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This article was published 13/10/2015 (3645 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

New YORK — The Winnipeg Jets came out firing haymakers in their first two games, dropping the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils with some big-time punches straight to the mugs.

But matched up against an Eastern Conference heavyweight Monday in Brooklyn, they were bloodied and bruised in a 4-2 loss to the New York Islanders.

And it doesn’t get any easier, what with the second of back-to-back contests going tonight at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers, another contender.

Step 1 in getting up off the mat?

“Getting a little angry at how it went,” said Jets captain Andrew Ladd. “We have a group in here that understands there’s a lot more to give in a lot of different areas. We’ll look at it (Tuesday) morning and come out to play (Tuesday) night.”

On that: the Jets opened last season with a win in Arizona and then dropped four in a row. But after that there was really only one extended losing skid — a 0-4-2 run after the all-star break.

The key, said Jets coach Paul Maurice, is to not gloss over what went wrong. The Isles pounded the Jets early and, simply put, just looked hungrier.

“We do a good job of not sugar-coating things or sweeping things under the rug,” said Maurice. “We weren’t quick enough today to have an opportunity to win the game. We’ll take a good look at that and work real hard at coming out tomorrow and being strong.”

Maurice wouldn’t confirm if goalie Ondrej Pavelec would start again against the Rangers, but even if he is on the bench in favour of Michael Hutchinson, he knows the importance of stopping the bleeding — even with a giant chunk of the season to go.

“That’s going to be a big test for us, playing against the Rangers and coming off a day like today,” said Pavelec. “Last year we responded really well in these situations. It’s definitely going to be a test to see where we’re at.

“It’s going to be a huge game for us. Every game is huge, but we had a great first two games… we had four points, lost tonight. We want to finish the road trip with a win, for sure.”

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OUCH REPORT: Jets D-man Dustin Byfuglien — who was suiting up for his 600th NHL game — did not finish the game after pulling the Jets to within 3-2 with his first goal of the season with eight minutes left. Maurice did not have an injury update after the game. Nikolaj Ehlers, who looked to take a knee-on-knee shot, did finish the game.

A TREAT FOR THE HOME SIDE: The Islanders got their first win in their new building after falling 3-2 in OT to Chicago in their home opener.

“It’s big, it’s something we touched on before the game,” Islanders centre Josh Bailey told reporters afterward. “We had a good first outing here, we just didn’t get the result we wanted. So it was good to get it tonight.”

Added Isles coach Jack Capuano: “If you watched us play tonight, the focus, the preparation from the drop of the puck — we dominated the hockey game.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @WFPEdTait