Noel says blowouts no big deal
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/01/2012 (5014 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — It wasn’t the two straight losses that prompted Jets coach Claude Noel to speak passionately to reporters on Friday.
It was the reaction to the dramatic fall-off of the team’s game in 7-4 and 4-0 losses in Montreal and Toronto respectively that had left an impression on the coach.
“This is getting magnified because there’s nothing else to talk about,” Noel said while his team was engaging in an optional skate on Friday at the First Niagara Center, site of tonight’s NHL game between the Jets and Buffalo Sabres. “There’s nothing else to do but figure out what type of situation we’re going through.
“We’re in a two-game scenario that people look and say, ‘They had such a good month of December.’ The road record has been magnified … but thank God I put this thing in perspective because if I had to read and listen, we would be in a different institution and it wouldn’t be the hockey institution.
“To me, there’s no panic, no crisis. This is all part of the season.”
With 12 home games, the Jets went 10-3-1 in the month of December.
Noel said he’s not yielding on his perspective, that Winnipeg’s season is not ruined because of two games.
The Jets are 19-16-5 heading for tonight’s game.
“In Canada, they embrace it and it’s great,” the coach said. “We’re happy that we’re in the running and we’re there. We’re knocking on the door. We’re still there. We’re no different than other teams battling. We’re going to be battling from now until the end of the year and that’s great.”
Friday, the Jets had a video session in the late morning and then opted to give many of their players the choice of whether to skate or not.
“We have some guys with a little bit of the flu that’s been going around for about four days now,” Noel said. “It’s a short stint, this flu thing.
“Between that and three (games) in four days, we watched some video this morning. We watched some things. We’re trying to get ourselves back on track in some areas.
“We can get it done with what we have. We just have to be better.”
The coach said he hopes that centre Bryan Little, now out eight games after taking a shot off his foot on Dec. 17, could be a player tonight. But neither Noel nor Little were certain.
Noel said there could be options for Little, defenceman Mark Flood and recently recalled forward Patrice Cormier to all draw in tonight.
Defenceman Dustin Byfuglien, out since Christmas with a lower-body injury, remains a few days away.
tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca
