Little fanfare for milestone goal

Veteran centre admits he wasn't keeping track

By: Ed Tait Posted: 3:00 AM CST Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015

It came without fanfare or a salute. And, in many ways, that mirrors the man himself and his game:

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It came without fanfare or a salute. And, in many ways, that mirrors the man himself and his game:

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This article was published 26/02/2015 (3856 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It came without fanfare or a salute. And, in many ways, that mirrors the man himself and his game:

Productive, but understated.

Bryan Little scored his 24th goal of the season in Tuesday’s 4-2 win over the Dallas Stars, banking a shot off defenceman Alex Goligoski and past Jhonas Enroth just more than five minutes into the game. It was Little’s 146 NHL marker — all with the Atlanta Thrashers/Jets franchise — and moved him past Slava Kozlov into second place on the franchise’s all-time goal list. Ilya Kovalchuk, with 328, stands alone at the top.

Mark J. Terrill / The Associated Press
Winnipeg Jets center Bryan Little — Mark J. Terrill / The Associated Press Winnipeg Jets center Bryan Little

Not that Little was keeping track of the accomplishment or anything.

“I didn’t even know until (Chris) Thorburn told me last night,” said Little with a shrug a day later. “It’s pretty cool. It’s not really what I’m thinking about right now, but it’s pretty cool.

“That’s all I really have to say about it.”

Thorburn, for the record, was also the first to tell Little that his hat-trick earlier this season was the first in Jets 2.0 history.

“He knows a lot about the Thrashers stats,” said Little of Thorburn. “He was one of the first to tell me this year that when I got a hat trick I had knocked out Eric Boulton as the last guy to get one. He’s on top of it a bit.”

Little, for the record, scored his first NHL goal in his first NHL game — the first player in franchise history to do so. It came on Oct. 5, 2007 in a 3-1 loss to the Washington Capitals, and while he couldn’t remember the goalie he scored on (it was Brett Johnson, FYI), he does admit it was hardly a highlight-of-the-night candidate.

“I got a rebound in the corner and just threw it out and it went off somebody,” said Little. “It was kind of like (Jacob) Trouba’s the other night (against Toronto). It wasn’t the prettiest one.”

‘I didn’t even know until (Chris) Thorburn told me last night. It’s pretty cool. It’s not really what I’m thinking about right now, but it’s pretty cool’

— Bryan Little on Tuesday’s milestone goal

All of which brings us to the personal number Little wants to change most right now. And that number is 0 — as in the grand total of playoff games he has played in during his career. He is one of 15 players on the active roster or injured list who have yet to suit up for meaningful spring hockey.

“My main goal now is trying to get into the playoffs,” said Little. “You don’t like seeing your name on the most games played without a playoff game list. That’s my main goal in the last couple of years, to try and get in there (the playoffs) and see where it goes.

“It’s driving us a lot. I mean, that’s what you play for: to give yourself a chance to play for the Stanley Cup. Every summer it’s been harder and harder to watch it on TV. Now that we’re in a position to get in there, you can feel how bad guys want it and how bad guys want to win.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @WFPEdTait