Big line busts out with nine points

Little, Ladd, Wheeler team to notch 4 goals against Rangers

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Earlier this week Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice faced a series of questions about the offensive production — or lack thereof — from his No. 1 line. Maurice, whose team had fallen to below .500 after a home loss to the St. Louis Blues Tuesday, was asked if he needed more from his top unit.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/12/2015 (3580 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Earlier this week Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice faced a series of questions about the offensive production — or lack thereof — from his No. 1 line. Maurice, whose team had fallen to below .500 after a home loss to the St. Louis Blues Tuesday, was asked if he needed more from his top unit.

After all, the combination of Andrew Ladd, Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler was running cold, combining for just one goal in the previous four games — three of them losses — and the Jets needed more from everyone, especially from three of their best players.

“More offensively?” he said. “I don’t think so.”

Trevor Hagan / The Canadian Press
Winnipeg Jets' Andrew Ladd (16) and Bryan Little (18) celebrate after Little opened the scoring against the New York Rangers' during first period NHL hockey action in Winnipeg, Friday night.
Trevor Hagan / The Canadian Press Winnipeg Jets' Andrew Ladd (16) and Bryan Little (18) celebrate after Little opened the scoring against the New York Rangers' during first period NHL hockey action in Winnipeg, Friday night.

Maybe he didn’t need it as much as the optics from the previous two weeks suggested he did, at least not enough to ask for it publicly. Or maybe he just knew the line would eventually start scoring and leading.

He got all of that and more Friday night as the trio combined for four goals and nine points in a 5-2 win over the New York Rangers at the MTS Centre; a victory that not only brought them back to a .500 record at 15-15-2 but also injected some much-needed life into a locker-room that has had little to celebrate of late.

Little, who had 10 goals, but just one in the last 12 games heading into Friday, scored twice in the first period to put the Jets up 2-0. He later added an assist on a Tyler Myers goal late in the second that put the Jets up 4-2, completing his second three-point night of the season.

He had started the year hot, scoring eight goals and 16 points in his first 16 games, but followed that up with eight total points in the next 15. Little admitted after the game the lack of production was starting to take its toll.

“You struggle and you work real hard and it seems you’re getting nowhere and you’re not getting chances,” said Little, now tied with Mark Scheifele with a team-high 12 goals. “Then a game like tonight happens, where it’s just the puck comes to you, and they’re going in for you.

“I think the big thing was that we were moving, we were working hard. We weren’t thinking about scoring goals, so when our chances came I think we were just more relaxed with it.”

Ladd finished with a two-point night, including an empty-net goal that kept a persistent Rangers attack at bay, icing it for the home side with little time left on the clock. Wheeler continued his hot start to the year, chipping in four assists.

It’s difficult to say what kind of effect the offensive success will have on the line, but it’s safe to say it’s something none of them are taking for granted.

“You’re going to have nights where everything happens and the puck seems to find you and you’re making plays,” said Wheeler. “You don’t want to get too used to it because it’s kind of been a rarity in this league. So you want to enjoy it when it happens, but turn the page tomorrow and start focusing for the next game.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

Every piece of reporting Jeff produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.

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