Spotlighted: 18, Bryan Little

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/04/2013 (4558 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HIS NUMBERS:

Goals: 0, Assists: 2, Points: 2, Plus/minus: even

HIS ICE TIME

Shifts: 22 Ice time: 18:23

 

First period

The Jets’ No. 1 centre, like a lot of his teammates, opens the game absolutely soaring. Working with a bad hand after taking a Ron Hainsey shot in the mitt on Tuesday, Little shows he can still dangle on the Jets’ third goal of the period, skilfully beating both Jack Skille and Brian Campbell wide to set up a streaking Andrew Ladd with a perfect goal-mouth feed. Of note: the bad hand means Little, the team’s top faceoff man with Jim Slater injured, does not take a single draw. Instead, when the top line is on the ice, Claude Noel has Andrew Ladd take the draws on the left dot and Blake Wheeler on the right.

Second period

A bit of everything for Little, who picks up his second assist on an absolutely gorgeous feed on a give-and-go play on the power play with Grant Clitsome. But with less than three minutes left in the frame, he is drilled by Erik Gudbrandson and appears to bang his cheek on the dasher and exits with a towel up to a bloody, open wound. Gudbrandson received a five-minute match penalty for an illegal check to the head on the play.

Third period

Little returns, but the final 20 minutes are largely uneventful, as both teams appear to be going through the motions waiting for the final whistle.

What we liked: Little at his playmaking best. He sees the ice well, uses his teammates effectively by distributing the puck like a point guard in basketball.

What we didn’t like: Hard to complain about anything. A gritty effort from a guy who isn’t 100 per cent healthy.

SYNOPSIS: There’s long been a debate in these parts about whether Little is a legit No. 1 centre. Nights like this quiet the doubters. Little now has six points (1G, 5A) in his last three games. And a number for the cynics to munch on: The Jets have now won 13 straight games in which Little scores at least one point and are 16-4 overall when he is on the scoresheet.

 

— Ed Tait