Not sweating period-3 troubles

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This article was published 23/01/2015 (3885 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There’s so much new territory being covered by the Winnipeg Jets, they’re unlikely to score straight A’s on all subjects.

The Jets are winners of five in a row and have a seven-game (6-0-1) points streak going at the NHL all-star break. Winnipeg, 26-14-8, has 60 points and a hold on the Western Conference’s first wild-card spot at the break.

 

The team has been unlike any other in franchise history through the first 48 games of the season, sitting fifth overall in the NHL’s goals-against category, at 2.35 against per game. The Jets/Thrashers have been a consistent bottom-10 team in this category since the franchise’s beginning in 1999.

The one item causing worry in Jets Nation has been converting leads into victories.

The Jets have a mark of 19-1-5 this season when leading after two. Their record when tied after two periods is 7-2-0.

Some third-period leads in the last month have gotten away from the Jets.

The problem there, says centre Bryan Little, has been a hint of caution. Teams stay aggressive when they continue to forecheck with gusto. But sometimes, teams in the lead, even though they want to keep forechecking aggressively, take just a moment of pause to contemplate playing it safe.

“I think if (their forechecking) does change, it’s not intentional,” Little said this week. “We definitely want to come out and play the same way, no matter what the score is. But sometimes it does creep in a bit, where you’re a bit careful or you take an extra second.

“We’ve had times this year where we had none of that in our game, where we were going and protecting a lead well. It’s just a matter of getting back to that place. We’re realizing that these games are getting big and maybe we do take an extra second to get on our horse and that’s kind of what we’re trying to get better at lately.”

Little said thinking about playing it safe isn’t the biggest crime in hockey but it’s not something the Jets want to get into the habit of.

“You’re trying to protect a lead but you don’t want to think that way,” he said. “You want to think it’s an even hockey game. That’s the way Paul (coach Maurice) wants us to play, aggressive and the same way all the time.

“Sometimes we might get a little nervous late in a game with a one-goal lead. It’s just mentally doing the same things.”

The five overtime and shootout losses that are part of the Jets’ record when leading after 40 minutes are not a league high. But the number is higher than the league average of nearly three.

Last Sunday, the Arizona Coyotes overcame a 3-1 third-period deficit. The Jets won in a shootout. Same storyline nearly two weeks ago in L.A. The Jets also won that game in a shootout. The next night on the West Coast, they led into the third period against the Anaheim Ducks and lost in a shootout.

And a month ago, Dec. 21, Winnipeg gave up a third-period lead against Philadelphia and lost in overtime.

Worth noting is that the Jets’ only regulation loss this season when leading after two periods was a 4-3 loss to Detroit Nov. 20, which the Jets led 3-2 after two periods.

Despite the result, Maurice continues to point to that game as one of the better ones his team has played this season.

‘You’re trying to protect a lead but you don’t want to think that way. You want to think it’s an even hockey game. That’s the way Paul (Maurice) wants us to play, aggressive and the same way all the time’

— Bryan Little

“I know the last couple of games we had given up a lead,” Jets winger Michael Frolik said. “I don’t think we’ve tried to change anything. It’s the goal of our team to be comfortable when you’re leading and play the same way.

“That’s the message from the coach, even if we’re in the lead, we still want to score the next one and kind of put the other team away.

“That’s our goal and we kind of didn’t do that on a few nights, but we’re going to learn from it. We want to feel more comfortable when we lead the games like we have, don’t panic and stick with our game and our system.”

The Jets have scored 35 third-period goals this season, among the league’s bottom 10 teams, but have given up only 37, and that’s among the best 10 teams in the NHL.

“When you lead, you feel a little lighter and the other team has to push,” Frolik said. “It can be good for you, too, because you can get the odd-man rushes. The goal is to play the same way the whole game, that even if you’re leading, don’t sit back.

“When you’re leading, the mindset can be to just sit back and get the pucks out and play it safe. You want to do smart plays but you don’t want to sit back and just wait for them. You still have to forecheck and put that puck deep.”

Frolik said the Jets have not been dwelling on the third-period troubles that have come up from time to time, and that the team’s 26 wins so far are far more important.

“The message at the start of the year, to be that team that will play hard and battle hard and that we’d get a reward from that,” he said.

“It’s obviously a good start for us but there are a lot of games ahead. After this break, we want to find a new gear, a new push, and it’ll be a big part of our season.”

 

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca