Maurice’s punishing workout has long-term application

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TAMPA, Fla. — In case the thought entered your mind the Winnipeg Jets got what they deserved with a tough practice Wednesday, based on their sub-par performance in Tuesday’s 2-1 loss in Carolina, Jets coach Paul Maurice had a rather different agenda.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/02/2016 (3524 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TAMPA, Fla. — In case the thought entered your mind the Winnipeg Jets got what they deserved with a tough practice Wednesday, based on their sub-par performance in Tuesday’s 2-1 loss in Carolina, Jets coach Paul Maurice had a rather different agenda.

Maurice put the Jets through their paces at Amalie Arena for less than an hour in the afternoon, and then told reporters it wasn’t designed for punishment for a much longer purpose.

“We’ve just started,” Maurice said, his team sitting nine points off the Western Conference’s playoff line as they prepare for tonight’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. “This is early on in this process.”

JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice.
JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice.

Once again, the bigger picture that the Jets are changed this year — younger in particular — is a big part of the narrative.

“We had a little bit of a different mix here, worked guys in, but you just get to the point here with this gear change that you have to understand what’s going on.

“The league changes after the all-star break and now we’ve got a full-on, hard-grind game. So you don’t get to have speed in that game. It’s a really critical time for, and I’m not just talking about the kids that have come in, it’s for everyone to learn to adapt to it and also not to just sweep this under the rug and say, hey, we’re right there. We’re not as far off as you think but that last little gap you’ve got to close is so hard to close.”

The team has had consistent difficulty in getting any traction in terms of results this season, not once accumulating a three-game winning streak.

“We’ve had a lot of nights where we compete real hard and play real well, we’ve just had a difficult time stringing those nights together,” the coach said.

The phrase “outworked” was prominent about the Jets’ first two periods Tuesday night and Maurice added to that storyline Wednesday.

“Everybody works hard,” he said. “The level of compete — and that also relates to execution — that level of play has changed.

“It changed after the all-star break. Tomorrow night will be a perfect example of it. You have the Eastern Conference champions (last season) sitting in ninth. They’re going to play as desperate a hockey game as you’ve seen them play. Similar to the way Carolina, sitting now two points out.

“There’s another level this game gets to and working hard doesn’t get it done. Everybody breaks a sweat in the NHL.

“For some of them, this is a new experience. I’m not talking about the guys who are wearing the sweater for the first time, the guys in their first tour. Then we have players who have been around a little bit but now they’re in key positions in that pressure so it’s a new experience for a lot of them.”

Wednesday’s practice was 45 minutes of drills designed for quickness, good sticks and intensity. There wasn’t much in the way of line rushes or dipsy-doodling or creativity.

When that was complete, the players skated laps for about eight minutes before receiving a one-way conversation from their coach.

“That was hard but that wasn’t over-the-top hard,” Maurice said. “I left them with a chance to compete hard tomorrow.

“But we’ve got to develop that in our players that have been here a while and certainly in our younger players in terms of moving forward as a team.”

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca

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