Putting in Work

While Friday night was all about fun at the Skills Competition, it was back to work on Saturday for the Winnipeg Jets, and work they did.
"It was a good practice, good pace. It's something we haven't been able to do a lot lately with our schedule," said Bryan Little. "It was nice to get out there and work on things today, and we looked pretty good doing it. It's a positive sign."
The 45-minute skate finished with special teams work, following a tough night against Florida that saw the team go 0-for-2 on the man advantage. In addition, the Jets allowed three goals on the penalty kill in Thursday's 4-3 shootout win.
The Jets have scored one power play goal in the last 14 opportunities - a span of five games. Patrik Laine continues to lead the team in power play goals with seven, and says simplicity is the key to getting back on track, starting with Sunday's game against the Colorado Avalanche.

"We don't have to (make) everything so hard," he said. "Just play simple, a lot of shots, and easy passes. I think that's the key."
Little had 2:08 of power play time against the Panthers, and said the Jets have been looking for the "perfect" pass or play too often.
"We just worked on trying to get pucks to the net, get some scrambles, some rebounds, maybe a couple ugly ones," Little said. "I think the biggest thing is moving the puck quick. Let the puck do the work. As a killer, when you're chasing the puck all around and you have to move a lot, that's when you get tired and you make a mistake.
"The faster we move the puck, the more openings we'll get."

As for the penalty kill, the Jets have given up at least one goal while shorthanded in each of the last four games. Head coach Paul Maurice says the problem is related to the lack of aggression the team has shown while down a man.
"We've gotten ourselves to the point that we have absolutely no up ice pressure, we've had no stand at the line," he said. "So we spend an awful lot of time in that tight box trying to pick up seams, and teams will pick you apart on that. That's the crux of it."
While Colorado's power play is ranked 21st in the NHL at 15.9 percent, Maurice says it can be tough to be aggressive up ice against the Avalanche while on the penalty kill.
"Tomorrow is a different look because they run a drop with (Tyson) Barrie, who is elite at getting through," said Maurice. "So we're still not going to get the aggresiveness we'd like to have in our PK, but that's the starting point with that."

Overall, Colorado is 2-7-1 in their last 10 games, including a 3-1 loss to Florida on Friday night. The Jets are eight points clear of the Avalanche in the Central Division standings, but have split the first two meetings of the season between the two clubs.
"It's that time of the year right now. You're either going to be chasing for the second half or you're going to be in a better spot," said Little. "We're right on that line. We want to go into the Christmas break feeling good, and hopefully with a few wins."