Jets hoping there’s no place like home

You’ll forgive Logan Stanley for losing track of just how deep the current nosedive has become. The Winnipeg Jets defenceman, speaking with the media on Monday, was asked about the keys to climbing out of an extended slump like the one his team is experiencing.

“Not taking a shift off or a period off or a night off. We miss a little bit of compete and passion sometimes, and that’s tough when you’re losing 10 in a row and you’re down in the dumps,” said Stanley.

A slight correction: the Jets have lost nine in a row so far, though double digits could be looming as they open a five-game homestand Tuesday night against the Vegas Golden Knights. Stanley won’t be able to try and help the cause as he serves a one-game suspension for sucker-punching Brady Tkachuk during Saturday’s 4-2 loss in Ottawa.

He explained himself to the media, essentially reiterating what he told the NHL’s department of player safety during a phone hearing.

“He finishes his check in front of the bench and kind of starts a little bit of an altercation. He’s trying to push me into the bench or whatever it is. When that’s done, he’s still kind of grabbing on, so I think we’re fighting and I throw the first punch,” said Stanley.

“Once he goes down, I obviously stop. I’m glad he’s alright and not injured. I don’t want to hurt anybody. That wasn’t the goal.”

Stanley said he had no idea Tkachuk had his right hand taped under his glove, which would have made him ineligible to fight under NHL rules (a match penalty would have resulted).

“I don’t follow the Senators, I don’t know anyone on their team, I don’t know Brady personally. So, no,” he said.

“I think it’s just the heat of the moment. Adrenaline is pumping and I’m just thinking we’re getting into a scrap. He’s definitely a willing combatant and has fought many times in his career. When you do get in them, you want to be throwing first and not waiting to see what happens.”

The league essentially ruled he decked an “unsuspecting player” which led to the one-game timeout.

“I don’t play the game with regret. You can’t play that way. I’ll continue to play hard and on edge,” he said.

“It obviously sucks to sit out. You want to play in every game. I’ll use it as a little bit of rest in this crazy schedule and get a couple of good skates in and a couple of good workouts in the gym and reset and be ready to go (on Thursday).”

Based on line rushes during Monday’s skate, it appears Haydn Fleury will take Stanley’s spot in the lineup and skate with Luke Schenn on the third pairing, since Stanley and perpetual healthy scratch Colin Miller were the other duo.

“I think our game is getting closer. I know that sounds awful to say after losing (nine) in a row but we’ve just got to piece together 60 minutes and not have these lulls in a game,” said Stanley.

“There are parts of our game that are really good and then we dip and all of a sudden we’re down two goals or chasing the game again. It’s just (about) finding a way to play a complete 60 (minutes).”

Why are these dips happening to a group that finished atop the NHL standings just a year ago?

“It’s definitely a fair question to ask. We’re asking ourselves the same thing,” said Stanley.

“We’re talking about it in here and it’s definitely not acceptable. We’ve got an older team, we’ve got Stanley Cup champions, we’ve got guys who have been here for a long time and know how the game is supposed to be played. It’s frustrating right now, but we can only focus on (Tuesday’s) game and try to get two points.”

The Jets will face a Golden Knights team with the same number of regulation wins (13) as they do through 40 games this season, and just two more victories overall (17). However, Vegas sits atop the Pacific Division, aided by 12 of their 23 losses coming in overtime or a shootout.

“We’ve got nine of our next 11 (on home ice). This is reality. We’ve got to be good. We’ve got to find a way,” Jets head coach Scott Arniel said of the opportunity in front of his group.

“Those three games that we just played on the road — those were three games that we should have won. I do believe that (in) all three of them we had the opportunity. But there were moments, there were mistakes, there was, again, execution. There were certain situations where we found a way to lose those games.”

Winnipeg’s nine consecutive losses have all come by one goal (seven games) or two (including one with an empty-netter), suggesting the Jets are routinely snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

“We’re staying in games. Now we’ve got to go the next step. The next step is finding ways to win these games,” said Arniel.

“And I think our leadership, I’ve talked to them about keeping the group up. We’ve got to stay up. You’re not going to have any success if everybody’s dragging themselves. I can’t scream and holler all day long, but if I’m just scaring them into playing some game that they’re not going to play, then it’s not going to help us.”

Veteran forward Nino Niederreiter — who has gone 15 games without a point and was a healthy scratch for the first time in his career last Thursday in Toronto — said everyone understands the urgency.

“I haven’t produced in a lot of games and haven’t done the things I’m supposed to do on the ice,” he said of the benching.

“It’s a good reminder that no day in this league (should be taken) for granted. Obviously I passed the 1,000 game mark (just last month) but hopefully many more games to come. But at the same time you’ve got to find a way within the group, within the organization to make changes.”

Niederreiter was asked if there’s a sense players are waiting for some kind of change to happen — whether it’s a trade or a demotion — to wake everyone up.

“It’s tough to say. If you’re waiting for that, it could be you that has your foot out the door,” he said.

“So it’s a dangerous thing to just sit down and wait for something to happen. At the end of the day you’ve got to change whatever you can in your own part and that’s where you’ve got to go with it.”

For Niederreiter, that means going to the hard areas of the ice — like in front of the net — with greater frequency and showing the coaches he’s worthy of more ice time than he’s been getting lately. Based on Monday’s skate, he looks to be playing on the third line beside Adam Lowry and Morgan Barron.

“My mindset now is going out there and doing whatever I can to earn more minutes,” he said.

“The biggest thing is try not to be negative, try to be positive. And hope for a better outcome. But at the same time you can’t just hope, you gotta go take.”

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