Jets put through their paces

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This article was published 12/01/2017 (3174 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Jets were all business Thursday afternoon, less than 24 hours after one of their worst performances of the season.

Head coach Paul Maurice put his troops through a spirited 45-minute practice at the MTS Centre. The level of effort at the workout appeared to be considerably higher than what the club displayed in a 7-4 loss to the Montreal Canadiens Wednesday night.

“We went through the things that put us in a bad mood last night and we talked about the things we needed to do on the ice, certain pace, certain level we need to get to,” said Maurice, whose team hit the road late Thursday for a three-game southern road trip that begins tonight in Glendale, Ariz., against the Coyotes (8 p.m., TSN3, TSN 1290). “We also needed to work on some things.”

Drills were sharp and fast-paced.

“Coach made it pretty clear he wanted an up-tempo practice,” veteran centre Bryan Little said. “He wanted us to be good today and we should be. We should always be fast in practice and sharp in practice. I thought we did a good job of keeping that tempo up. Now we’ve gotta translate that to the games.”

Maurice, who called a timeout during Wednesday’s debacle to deliver an animated verbal tirade, was asked if there would have been a time in his coaching career when a similar effort would have resulted in some form of punishment.

“There might have been a time,” he said. “But there’s something more significant. I don’t like giving them that excuse. If you treat them like men, do the day right today and make sure you damn well be good tomorrow. So, we’re not dragging our asses into Arizona with the idea, ‘Well, we would’ve been good, but the coach bagged us into the ice there yesterday.’

“We’ve got every reason to be good tomorrow.”

Maurice had promised Wednesday’s dismal effort would not be swept under the rug, and players were reminded of Montreal’s domination again Thursday morning.

“We watched some video today and it was pretty clear that (the Canadiens) were a step faster, they were on pucks faster than us (and) they were winning all the board battles,” Little said. “And most of the goals, they were just lost battles.

“I think everyone knows you can’t be your best every night. But the good teams find a way to play at a high level more often than not. We need to try to find that place.”

Although the loss to Montreal was one of the club’s lowest points of the season, Maurice said the effort was not uniquely bad.

“It happens with every team, every year,” Maurice said. “Great ones, weak ones. Every year, they have a game where their compete (level) is just not good enough. So you deal with it the next day. You look at all the instances you think you can do better as a hockey team and you make sure you handle your day right so you don’t do mindless drills. You do it for a reason.”

Meanwhile, defenceman Ben Chiarot did not participate in the Thursday’s workout.

“Just illness,” Maurice said. “He may be available for the game. It’s pretty standard in our room right now. A big chunk of guys have played while they’ve had it, played through it or lucky enough to have it on the off-day.”

If he is unable to play, Mark Stuart could see his first action since Nov. 29. Stuart has dressed for 10 of Winnipeg’s 44 games.

Rookie right-winger Patrik Laine, who leads the club with 21 goals, remains on injured reserve as a result of a concussion suffered Saturday against the Sabres in Buffalo. He has not yet resumed skating and will not accompany the team on the road.

“When he gets back on the ice, I’ll tell you… He’s not at that stage yet,” Maurice said.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @sawa14