Jets have a chance to ramp up pressure on Rangers

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/12/2015 (3581 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The New York Rangers were scheduled to arrive in Winnipeg late Thursday night after their game in St. Paul, Minn., against the Wild.

For a change in the last two weeks, the Jets are at home for somebody else’s back-to-back. On both Dec. 6 and Dec. 11, the Jets had to travel to Chicago for the back end of a back-to-back scenario, losing them both.

“It’s always a little tougher when you’re on a back-to-back,” said Jets defenceman Tyler Myers Thursday. “With them playing (Thursday) we want to make sure we get on them early. But for the most part, we’re going to be focusing on what we want to do.”

BOUNCING BACK? After tonight’s game, the Jets have only two more starts before they take the Christmas schedule break. They’re in Edmonton Monday and in Calgary Tuesday. They’ll then have four complete non-game days before resuming action at home Dec. 27 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“Only a few games left before the break so we want to go into the break on a high and hopefully get a few wins in here and tomorrow’s a big one,” said Jets centre Bryan Little, his team having lost two in a row. “We need to bounce back quick.”

“I think it’s boing to be urgent in every game going forward here,” added Myers. “We’re really close to being in it. There are some things to improve on for sure but we definitely want to come in urgent tomorrow but we need to have some urgency going forward with all of our games.”

HE’S A BELIEVER: Jets coach Paul Maurice said there were no broader messages meant for his team when he decided to send forward Adam Lowry down to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.

And the coach was decidedly less stern about the decision a day later.

“I’m a huge Adam Lowry fan and believer, for the future of our franchise and where I see him fitting,” he said. “But he wasn’t there.

“In the game he played (Wednesday) night, he touched the puck a lot more often and he just looked a lot more like we had hoped for. Not every career is a straight path. So he got more touches on the puck and got his stick in the right spots to kill some penalties and get into a heavier rotation. I liked what I saw. He needs to build off that.”

roster freeze: The Jets could conceivably change their minds about Lowry or other recalls after today’s game.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Thursdays

Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.

Sign up for Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

The NHL’s roster freeze for Christmas comes into effect at midnight Saturday and runs through to Dec. 27. Trades, loans, waivers and demotions are not allowed, with very few exceptions, during this period.

FARM REPORT: After attending the Moose victory over the San Antonio Rampage Wednesday, Maurice said he sees some optimistic signs from the farm team.

“Some guys have made some progress from the games I’ve seen earlier in the year,” he said. “I liked for the most part that they played. Thought they played real hard.

“The two guys we called up I thought had really good games, strong games, and they deserved to get an opportunity.”

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca