Jets need to play for each other

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This article was published 19/04/2022 (1237 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Kyle Connor raised some eyebrows the other night for post-game comments in which he suggested “lack of motivation (in) some of the guys in the room” could be to blame for back-to-back blowout losses in Florida. The 25-year-old leading scorer on the Winnipeg Jets was asked Tuesday in New York to expand on what he meant.

“It’s a situation where we’re not happy with our past couple of games or our performance. Yeah, we’re playing two pretty good teams there, and down the stretch here too we’ve got some good teams, but I think we’ve got to look at it as an opportunity to grow as a team,” Connor said via Zoom following the morning skate at Madison Square Garden.

“Whatever the playoff picture may be, if we’re in or we’re out, it’s not looking good so it’s never too early to start building that chemistry as a team for next year and that template of what it looks like and build that good locker room. I think that’s what I was pointing to, for sure.”

Connor was asked if he was implying some of his teammates had already checked out?

“I mean, it’s a long season. Not everybody is going to have their ‘A’ game every single night, but it’s what you do when you don’t bring it. You’ve still got to contribute to the game and I think as a group, we’ve got to hold each other accountable, for sure,” he replied.

Connor said regardless of position in the standings, motivation should never be an issue.

“No, not at all. I mean, we’re all professional athletes. We get paid as a job. We’ve got to come to the rink and still do our job,” he said. “It’s coming together as a team, playing for each other. We have all the skill in the world, it doesn’t mean anything if we’re not playing for each other, playing the right way. I think that’s going to be a pretty big focal point for us.”

So why has that become such a hot-button issue around here, especially with a core that was expected to compete for a championship and is now going to miss the playoffs entirely?

“I mean, that’s tough to say. It’s the job of management to look at the longer-term picture, us as a group. I don’t think that we’re worried too much about two or three years down the road or something like that. We’re worried about the game at hand,” said Connor. “What we can do as a group here for these last remaining games is come together as a team and support each other, play for each other.”

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Speaking of Connor, his list of hockey sins is a short one this year. And his angelic on-ice behaviour might just earn him some hardware when the NHL’s awards are handed out later this spring.

“I would think that would make him worthy of winning the Lady Byng trophy,” his coach, Dave Lowry, said Tuesday. “A guy that has an impact every night on the outcome of a hockey game, leading the team in scoring, is one of the elite goal scorers in the National Hockey League, and he takes two minor penalties — that tells me right there he doesn’t get enough recognition. They don’t talk about him enough, nationally, for his accomplishments in the game.”

Indeed, Connor has spent a grand total of four minutes in the sin bin this season, which is remarkable for a top-line skater who plays heavy minutes and has put up a career-best 43 goals and 44 assists in 73 games, prior to Tuesday’s battle with the Rangers.

Connor is 14th in the NHL’s points race. There is no other skater currently in the top 80 who isn’t in double-digits with penalty minutes.

A slash on Connor McDavid during a meeting with the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 18 and a hook on Mathew Barzal of the New York Islanders on March 11 are his only two infractions.

“I don’t remember the McDavid one. I do remember the Barzal one,” Connor said. “That was recent. I mean he had a breakaway if I didn’t take that penalty. I think I got my stick in there and the refs decided it was a call. Not much to say.”

In other words, it was a good penalty to take. And Connor said he’s proud of his near-spotless record.

“I don’t think anybody wants to take a penalty or put their team down on a penalty kill with all the power plays, talented top end guys,” he said. “There are some good power plays out there. For me, from that standpoint it’s not like I’m looking to change the way I play, it’s just how I play. It’s always been in my game to play that way. Not looking to take any penalties is just how I play.”

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Morgan Barron admits this one was circled on the calendar. The 23-year-old Jets forward got to face the team that drafted him in 2017, then shipped him to Winnipeg at the trade deadline last month (along with a pair of draft picks) in exchange for Andrew Copp.

“I’m excited to be back here and playing against them,” said Barron, who skated on a new-look third line Tuesday with Adam Lowry and Mason Appleton.

Barron scored his first NHL goal last year at MSG, a moment he will always treasure.

“It was cool. It was at the tail end of a losing effort, so it was a little anti-climactic. I just remember sitting next to some of the guys on the bench and them just telling me, ‘Remember this, enjoy it, cherish it,’” said Barron, who had a goal and an assist in his first eight games with the Jets.

“This was something you dream about for your whole life, and you can always say you scored a goal in the NHL. I just wanted to score another and another, and I’m still kind of there. Looking back on it, it was a fun experience and great to score that goal. Hopefully there’s many more to come.”

The 6-4, 220-pounder from Nova Scotia is relishing the chance to showcase himself a bit down the stretch with a Jets team that is currently missing top centre Mark Scheifele and young forward Cole Perfetti to injuries.

“I think there’s been some opportunity for me to play in different spots in the lineup. That was always kind of what I was looking for in New York, just a little bit of opportunity,” he said. “I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job of taking advantage of what I’ve been offered so far and I want to continue to do that. Just try to build on every game, try to continue to earn the coaches and my teammates trust and keep rolling.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg