‘I feel honoured to be in this league that long’

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This article was published 14/01/2015 (3891 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HE has been consistently confident in what he says, which is one of the reasons he has the Winnipeg Jets’ ears through one year of coaching them.

But Tuesday, when his charges skated circles around the Florida Panthers for an 8-2- victory at the MTS Centre, Jets coach Paul Maurice was more reflective than is usual.

The reason?

It was the 500th victory of his coaching career.

“I’ve been really fortunate,” Maurice told reporters after the game. “To be here and in a place where you feel really comfortable and compete so hard so you get to enjoy it.

“But (Hartford and then Carolina owner) Mr. (Peter) Karmanos and (GM) Jim Rutherford are the two biggest influences on me getting an opportunity to coach as young as I did and then staying with me.

“That’s really where my thoughts are now, an appreciating for the faith and then the support and letting me learn my job on the job which you just don’t get to do in the NHL. Those two guys are the reason I’m here at 500 here today.

“I feel honoured to be in this league that long.”

Maurice said that win No. 1 was also on his mind Tuesday night.

“My first one was San Jose, 7-4 at home,” he said. It happened in 1995. “We hit the Burger King drive-thru on the way home. My wife should have figured out then it wasn’t a very glamourous job. “So we lost the next four. The game will humble you when you start to think you’re good.”

As for milestones and memories, Maurice added: “I think my family will enjoy this one. I hope they will.”

Tuesday’s one-sided win could provide a boost for the Jets in the middle of potentially their most taxing week of the season.

They’re 2-1-1 so far in a stretch of seven games in 11 days.

But the biggest chore from result, Maurice said, will be to forget about it.

Important divisional games are coming straight up, Thursday in Dallas and Friday in Chicago.

“I think the win in L.A. (Saturday) will carry more weight, to be honest with you,” Maurice said. “Our challenge is to forget that one as fast as we can, enjoy it tonight and then leave it there.

“We did what we needed to do early in the game. Both teams had the same challenge, four in six, which is not easy in this league. We came out right and we came out strong and everything that kind of happens after 4-1, you’re kind of sitting on the bench going, ‘I hope we don’t try that in our next game.’ ” Maurice was thrilled for left-winger Mathieu Perreault, who fired four goals in Tuesday’s win, giving him 15 on the season.

“Great story in Matty Perreault scoring four,” the coach said. “That’s the first time I’ve seen that. Almost five.

“And I’m happy for him. He’s done it the right way. He’s worked so hard. He went through that stretch where he wasn’t scoring and his practices got even more competitive.

“He worked even harder. He had a stretch where he was competing on every puck and trying too hard and it wasn’t going. Good for him but because it’s a good sell for the coaches because if you’re going to work that hard, you’re going to get good things to happen.

“He’s feeling it now and he’s a big part of the reason our power play’s gotten to be very good over the last two months.”

 

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca

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