Jets finally on home ice for six-game stretch

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This article was published 16/10/2015 (3642 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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The only NHL team without a home game finally gets into the act tonight at the MTS Centre.

The Winnipeg Jets, the last club to stage its 2015-16 home opener, meets the Calgary Flames at 7 p.m. (TSN3, TSN1290).

The Jets come to tonight’s game with a 3-1 mark, cut on a season-opening road trip to visit Boston, New Jersey, the Islanders and Rangers.

“The game tonight is really important to set the tone for this homestand,” said Jets centre Bryan Little, noting the beginning of a season-long six-game stay at the MTS Centre.

Little said he already sees some change in his team from how it finished last season, the club’s first appearance in the playoffs since the 2011 relocation.

“I think a bit of maturity,” Little said. “You see it right away with how desperate we’re playing. We know from the start we had last year, kind of a slow start, that when it comes to later in the season fighting for a spot, we know how important the start is for us and how big these games are early in the season.”

Veteran defenceman Mark Stuart said this morning that the Jets are focused on re-establishing a hard-to-play-against kind of game.

“You can take some things from last year but we need to re-establish that home ice,” Stuart said. “We’re excited not just for the home opener but to get back from the road and to get started at home.

“It was a good start for us but we need to capture that team that’s really hard to play against at home. And the crowd, we need to use all that to our advantage. It starts tonight to build all that up.”

Against the 1-2 Flames tonight, Jets coach Paul Maurice hopes his team won’t try to block out the noise at the MTS Centre.

“We’re going to try to figure out how to use it,” Maurice said. “This is a unique building. It’s very loud and the fans are great. We’ve got to find a way to harness that. I think later in the season last year we did. We were really strong at home.

“That whole even-keeledness, we’re not trying to do that. We’re trying to experience it. I can’t control the four or five guys who are going to be nervous anyway. No matter what you say. All the kids are going to be jacked up and I’m hoping the veterans are going to be jacked up.

“We’ve got to figure out how to handle that and playing solid hockey in front of them.”

The team has started the season with three rookies, Nikolaj Ehlers, Nic Petan and Andrew Copp, in the lineup and it looks like all three will be in forward spots tonight as the team’s lineup has stayed mostly the same through the first four games.

Maurice was clearly wired up for today’s opener. He was asked in this morning’s interview is a good start is key.

“It’s EVERYTHING,” he said, emphasis his. “If it’s not good at 10 (minutes) I’m going home.”

Then more seriously, he added: “A good start’s important. A good finish is more important.”

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca