Winnipeg Jets Notebook

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This article was published 25/11/2014 (4062 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Stick to the game plan: Kane

IF you’re looking for a change in attitude, Winnipeg Jets left-winger Evander Kane on Monday called the team’s back-to-back losses against Detroit and St. Louis “a losing rut.”

Kane was asked to peek into this week that sees the club start a three-game road trip tonight in Columbus.

“It’s going to be a tough schedule,” Kane said. “We play back-to-back the next couple of days here (also Wednesday in Buffalo) and it’s going to be very important for us to have a good road trip here. We want to win every game on the road but it starts in Columbus and we’re going to try to get out of this losing rut we’re in right now.”

The team, Kane said, isn’t going to let a couple of games sidetrack their game plan, no matter the opponent.

“There’s no easy night in the NHL but at the same time, we have the expectation we’re going to win every night no matter who we’re playing,” he said. “It doesn’t change whether you’re playing Buffalo, St. Louis, Nashville. It doesn’t matter to us. These are six points up for grabs and we want to try to get all six.”

Kane said the Jets are still squarely focused on being a better defensive team that can thrive in close games. Twelve of their last 15 games have been one-goal affairs.

“That’s just the way the Western Conference is,” he said. “If you want to be a top team, you’re going to have to endure that. I think that’s part of the process of being a good team, especially in the Central Division.

 

What Kane said: Bogosian

JETS coach Paul Maurice was concerned after losing to St. Louis that it was the first time this season his team had given up four goals in back-to-back games.

“I think everyone in here knows the body of work we’ve put in over the last few months back to training camp,” defenceman Zach Bogosian said, eager to cut off any talk the Jets will now revert to being a defensively-poor team. “We just have to make sure we understand we can play with the big teams and that we are one of the big teams. We just have to make sure we stick to the game plan; to have high-intensity games is how we’re going to win.”

Kane said in his opinion, Sunday’s four-goals-against outing doesn’t count.

“They scored an empty-net goal, so it’s three goals,” he said. “I don’t think (it’s anything to worry about). Go back to the Minnesota game. Some of the bounces they got, our penalty kill, we gave up some uncharacteristic plays off the PK. And back to the Detroit game, just some blatant mistakes that happen over the course of the season.

“I think our defensive game has been good. I think there are certain times in a game where our gaps aren’t as tight and our routes aren’t as sharp as they need to be but overall, if we continue to play the way we have defensively, those goals against are going to continue to stay down.”

 

May tinker with lineup: coach

IN his wondering aloud, Maurice raised the possibility his line changes of a week ago may have contributed to the defensive blip.

He speculated Monday the lines may change again soon, but wouldn’t be specific.

“I’ve got the next place we’re going to go with the lines,” he said. “But that being said, two good opponents, a lead with one and tied with one going into the third. So it’s not a matter of being outplayed.

“By lines, (Bryan) Little’s is plus-one over three games. Is that enough? It is if (Travis) Zajac’s zero and (Henrik) Zetterberg’s a zero and (Jori) Lehtera’s a zero. (Mathieu) Perreault’s line had four in their last seven periods going into last night. So there’s something there we still like.

“And same with the (Mark) Scheifele group and (Jim) Slater’s line got a goal. So there’s enough good there to leave it for a while. The question is, ‘Is a while already come?’ We’ll watch that closely.

“But you’re looking more probably at in-game changes than necessarily deciding you didn’t like what you saw and change it in practice.”

 

Fond Quinn memories: Maurice

MAURICE was asked about a former boss, Pat Quinn, on Monday on news of Quinn’s death in Vancouver.

“Such an iconic person,” said Maurice.

Maurice was the AHL Toronto Marlies’ coach in 2005-06 when Quinn was the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Among his memories:

• “The presence that was Pat Quinn. Just walking in behind him in Game 2 of the conference final in ’02, the silly things you remember, the size of him. I’m a decent-sized fella but I was absolutely dwarfed behind the man. He had the presence behind the bench. “I’ve had guys that have played for him… Ronny Francis thought he might have been the best guy behind the bench for reading the play of the other team.”
• “Very gracious when you spent time with him. A real gentleman. Always seemed to have that composure about him. I’m sure he could hold a room pretty good when he got his Irish up.”

 

Et cetera…

JETS regulars Andrew Ladd, Blake Wheeler and Toby Enstrom did not skate Monday but the coach said all would be in uniform tonight in Columbus against the Blue Jackets… Winnipeg will have played 15 of its first 25 games away from home by the end of the week but once the calendar turns to December, the Jets will have nine of their 13 games that month at home.

 

— Tim Campbell