Little’s return not enough to spark Winnipeg’s offence

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/03/2015 (3307 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

He heard cheers when he first stepped onto the ice and the oohs and aahs when his first chance — less than a minute into the game — was stopped by Henrik Lundqvist.

And so the opening shift by Bryan Little in his first appearance after an 11-game stint on the disabled list was just oozing with possibility. But by game’s end, a 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers that was the Winnipeg Jets’ third in the last four games, Little was lamenting the result more than his personal performance.

“It was one of those games where we were right on the edge the whole game,” said Little. “You can’t say we didn’t have chances or it might have been a different game. They did control the play sometimes, but I thought we did a pretty good job of riding the storm out.

“It’s just hockey. I think we realize the games are bigger right now. There was some tension out there, some nerves before the game because the guys realize how big the points are. We could have been on the other side of it.”

The Jets’ No. 1 centre saw 19 minutes and 41 seconds of ice time in his first game back since March 4. Working alongside regular linemates Andrew Ladd and Michael Frolik — and 2:05 on the power-play — Little managed three shots on goal.

But he did notice one dramatic change since he last suited up: the pace and the want-to of everybody on the ice was cranked up considerably.

“I felt pretty good,” said Little. “It took me a few shifts to feel comfortable again out there. But overall I felt better than I thought I would.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Business Weekly

Monday mornings

The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week.

Sign up for Business Weekly

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

“It was the speed at which everything was happening. The games are big right now, every team is playing for a playoff spot, for pride or to try and move up in the standings. They’re bringing their best hockey every night and I noticed the pace was quite a bit higher than when I left.”

BUFF IN TOUGH? Jets defenceman Dustin Byfuglien could face some discipline for a vicious crosscheck to the neck of J.T. Miller in the second period Tuesday. The play was not penalized, but didn’t go unnoticed by the Rangers.
That said, the buzz after the game had Byfuglien’s play almost certainly being reviewed by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.
Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault said the crosscheck was “violent, deliberate, could have broken his neck.”

FYI: The Rangers held Drew Stafford off the scoresheet, ending a nine-game point streak (4G, 7A) that was the longest in the history of Jets 2.0… The Rangers picked up their 25th road win of the season, tying the franchise record, set last year. New York is the first squad to register 25 road wins in two consecutive seasons since the Philadelphia Flyers did so during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons… The Rangers are now 17-5-5 against Western Conference opponents this season… Winnipeg has now lost two straight at home and are 12-4-2 at MTS Centre since Jan. 13th. The Jets have five games remaining — two at home (Saturday against Vancouver and a week later in the regular-season final against Calgary, with three on the road (Minnesota, St. Louis and Colorado) sandwiched in between.

Ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait