Damn the back-to-back games, full steam ahead

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This article was published 10/12/2016 (3201 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CALGARY — The Winnipeg Jets’ plan for the battles in Alberta this weekend did not include saving some fuel in the tank for the second half of the back-to-back series.

The intention was to exert as much energy as required Saturday night against the sizzling Calgary Flames and then duplicate the endeavour 24 hours later in Edmonton against the speedy Oilers, led by NHL scoring leader Connor McDavid.

Winnipeg based that on a model crafted to near-perfect exactly a week ago when the team dispatched of a pair of elite Central Division squads — the St. Louis Blues (3-2) and Chicago Blackhawks (2-1) — on successive nights.

Those two road victories raised the Jets’ record to the .500 mark for the first time since Nov. 19, although a shootout loss to the Detroit Red Wings (4-3) and a stinging 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers — a game determined by a late power-play goal by the visitors — dropped them below the line again.

Jets winger Brandon Tanev said playing a pair of simple, hard-working games against tough Pacific Division squads is a great opportunity to steady things.

“From the time you get to the rink, it’s all business. You lay it all on the line one night for the full 60 minutes and then the same thing happens the next night. You cannot take any nights off,” Tanev said, following Saturday’s morning skate. “We’ve got to continue to push, continue to play the style of play that got us some success last weekend. Getting our shift lengths right, working hard and taking the crowd out of it, if we can, is the key to having success in a doubleheader on a weekend.”

Jets defenceman Ben Chiarot said the club can draw inspiration from last weekend’s consecutive victories away from the MTS Centre.

“It shows us we can be successful against two really good teams,” he said. “You’re not going to get any tougher back-to-back than St. Louis and Chicago on the road. So, it should give us confidence this weekend, for sure.

“You have to grind through it. These back-to-backs are part of being in the NHL. There’s a bunch of them in the season and you have to find ways to be successful.”

Winnipeg has played some of its best hockey when games are jammed together. In five back-to-backs prior to the trip to Alberta, the team had a combined 6-2-2 record — the two defeats came in Boston and Raleigh, N.C., during that ugly five-game losing skid in November.

Head coach Paul Maurice said when it comes to playing two games in 24 hours, a focus on the task at hand is critical for the Jets.

“You only play the one (game). You just can’t even think about the two of them,” he said. “We’re not really in a position to be taking anybody lightly — that we would slide in on a team that’s 5-0 (Calgary) and say, ‘OK, now we’ve got to really try (against Edmonton).’ We’ve got to go as hard as we can every night to give ourselves a chance to win.”

Jets captain Blake Wheeler said when even the best-laid plans go sideways, points can still be collected through grittiness over style.

“It’s not always going to look easy, it’s not going to be pretty, probably any of it. And if it feels that way, then it’s probably a good thing for us,” he said. “We were OK doing that in St. Louis and Chicago, and we need to be OK doing that in Calgary and Edmonton.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @WFPJasonBell