That’s an offensive idea

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This article was published 12/11/2014 (4272 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MONTREAL — Before you even get started, drop the idea the Winnipeg Jets will need to let their horses loose to create some offence.

There was no indication after Tuesday’s 3-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens before 21,287 happy customers at Bell Centre the Jets intend to sacrifice some of their good defence to generate more offence.

They have been shut out four times in the season’s first 16 games.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” centre Mark Scheifele said, shooting down the idea. “I don’t think that’s the way to generate offence.

“When you start cheating, that’s when you get caught. I think we just have to play our good defence and continue to support each other in our own end and let the offence come from playing good D.”

Winnipeg has given up 33 goals this season in 16 games, plus two goals against credited for shootouts lost.

That’s a large improvement on anything seen in the team’s three seasons since the 2011 relocation.

Coach Paul Maurice shook his head on any possible style adjustments after Tuesday’s loss, which snapped the Jets’ eight-game points streak (6-0-2) and dropped them to 8-6-2 two games into this week’s five-game road trip.

“We’ll look at it and make an assessment of where we think our offensive game is,” said Maurice, whose team had 29 shots on goal Tuesday night. “Not in so much those chances, the two-on-oh and the one-on-oh and Buff (Dustin Byfuglien) down the side in the first period. More of the structure five-on-five, how many pucks we decided not to put to the net and the result of those things.

“I’ve said to you before we spend more time working on our offence than we do on our defence. And we’re going to continue to have to do that.”

The list of excellent chances for the visitors Tuesday was not short.

Evander Kane was stopped on a breakaway not eight minutes into the game. Mark Scheifele hit a post on a shorthanded breakaway after a brain-dead giveaway by P.K. Subban.

Bryan Little hit the post in the second period and rookie Adam Lowry missed a gaping net early in the third before the Habs forged ahead 2-0.

Then, of course, there was the final, desperate stretch of the game when the Jets lifted Ondrej Pavelec for an extra attacker.

Kane threw a mini-tantrum after clipping the post and then shooting over a wide-open net and out of play. In between those chances, Carey Price robbed Little to preserve his first shutout of the season.

And that’s just the list of great chances. There were numerous other good looks that also failed.

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“You need on the road, one of those to go fairly early for you so you’re not chasing the game,” Maurice said. “Which I didn’t feel was happening anyway.

“It was a hard-fought game and both teams were pretty good in their own end with sticks and blocking shots. We didn’t get enough pucks to the net early, and I mean early on our chances, our decisions to get it to the net, and passed off too much then that either got knocked down or blocked.

“A lot of that for me was that we were trying to be perfect with the shot… put a lot of heat on it and missing the net on some chances that we just need to get to the net.”

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca