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Interestingly, according to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun, Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff and head coach Claude Noel had a little chat with both youngsters on Thursday to pat them on the back for their work in the opening-night win against Edmonton, stress the importance of rest and nutrition and then hammered home that the season is a marathon, not a sprint.

"We had a nice chat, talked about Game 1. We said, ‘Guys, keep on going. You’ll get the opportunities as you deserve them and as they come,’" the Jets GM told LeBrun. "They’re both very humble kids, but they’re both showing a lot more maturity than a lot of 19-year and 20-year-olds."

Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 10.05.2013

719656 Winnipeg Jets

Jets off to a flying start

Fans get taste of what team might be able to accomplish

By: Ed Tait

Posted: 10/5/2013 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

There are boxes to unpack and some settling in to do yet. And, yes, it's way too early to be making any concrete conclusions.

But it's also not a stretch to say this after the Winnipeg Jets knocked off the Los Angeles Kings 5-3 in their 2013-14 home opener in front of another raucous MTS Centre crowd Friday night:

They are really digging their new neighbourhood among the tall trees in the National Hockey League's Western Conference.

And while there were some iffy moments down the stretch -- the Jets held a 4-1 advantage before a pair of late power-play goals by the Kings made things far more interesting than the home side wanted -- they did improve to 2-0 courtesy some big-time contributions from some of the usual faces.

Evander Kane scored twice, Ondrej Pavelec was outstanding, Dustin Byfuglien was a force, Bryan Little and Olli Jokinen were solid, while the work of new faces like Devin Setoguchi, Mark Scheifele and Jacob Trouba was also critical in the win.

Most importantly, the Jets fulfilled one of their primary objectives heading into the season: to be hard to play against.

"I think we've stressed we need to play the right way on a nightly basis," said captain Andrew Lad. "That's the biggest thing. We've seen it in spurts over the last couple of years, and being on the outside looking in we've realized that's not good enough. What we've come up with as a group is that we want that every night and we've stressed that. I think you've seen that so far."

Home debut redux

The home-opener win was the Jets' first since their rebirth in Winnipeg after serving up two duds in their first attempts -- the 5-1 stinker to Montreal in Year 1 and last season's 4-1 yawner against Ottawa. And, just FYI, the last time this franchise opened a campaign with consecutive wins was 2009-10 when the Atlanta Thrashers knocked off Tampa and St. Louis.

On Friday both Kane and Blake Wheeler pointed to using their speed and physical play to key a home-ice turnaround this season -- the Jets had just the 21st-best home record last season -- and while they were outshot 18-7 in the first period, the two clubs were knotted at 1-1 and Winnipeg had dominated the hit parade 13-7.

"You put the puck in the net in this building and you get to feed off the crowd," Ladd said. "The energy was awesome. We need to keep putting the puck in the net here because it's fun to play here when the crowd is energized."

Engaged, all right

With apologies to Pavelec, who was outstanding -- especially early -- the best player on the ice was Kane. Interestingly, his engagement to longtime girlfriend Ashley Chamberland was all over social media late Thursday and No. 9 was certainly engaged against the Kings. His stat line was absolutely gaudy: two goals, one assist, eight shots, five hits, nine minutes in penalties -- including a second-period scrap with Colin Fraser -- along with one blocked shot in 14 minutes and 38 second of ice time.

"We got to the body early and against a team like L.A. you have to let them know you're not going to be run out of your own building," said Kane. "We did a good job of sticking up for each other and being physical. Those kinds of things lead to turnovers and people second guessing themselves."

The kids are all right

The Jets may be concerned about all the hype surrounding Trouba and Scheifele, but the two first-rounders are already staples on the second line and second defence pairing. Scheifele, who looks far more comfy now than in the pre-season, picked up an assist, drew a couple of penalties and was plus-2 while Trouba played 20:53 and was solid through 40 minutes before a pair of giveaways in the third period.

Interestingly, according to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun, Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff and head coach Claude Noel had a little chat with both youngsters on Thursday to pat them on the back for their work in the opening-night win against Edmonton, stress the importance of rest and nutrition and then hammered home that the season is a marathon, not a sprint.

"We had a nice chat, talked about Game 1. We said, 'Guys, keep on going. You'll get the opportunities as you deserve them and as they come,'" the Jets GM told LeBrun. "They're both very humble kids, but they're both showing a lot more maturity than a lot of 19-year and 20-year-olds."

Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 10.05.2013

719657 Winnipeg Jets

Afterburner

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 10/5/2013 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

SUMMARY

Kings 3 at Jets 5

1. Los Angeles, Greene 1 (unassisted) 14:17.

2. Winnipeg, Kane 1 (Setoguchi, Scheifele) 15:45.

Penalties: Kane Wpg (roughing) 8:21, Brown LA (interference) 9:48, Postma Wpg (tripping) 12:08.

Second Period

3. Winnipeg, Jokinen 1 (Frolik, Enstrom) 12:54.

Penalties: Byfuglien Wpg (hooking) 0:44, Kane Wpg (fighting) 3:04, Fraser LA (fighting) 3:04, King LA (hooking) 4:55, Greene LA (roughing) 13:50.

Third Period

4. Winnipeg, Kane 2 (Setoguchi, Byfuglien) 2:22 (pp).

5. Winnipeg, Setoguchi 1 (Kane, Jokinen) 5:19.

6. Los Angeles, Carter 2 (Muzzin, Richards) 11:00 (pp).

7. Los Angeles, Williams 1 (Frattin, Mitchell) 15:44 (pp).

8. Winnipeg, Little 2 (Ladd) 19:12 (en).

Penalties: Greene LA (holding) 2:09, Richards LA (slashing) 5:28, Trouba Wpg (tripping) 10:55, Kane Wpg (high-sticking) 13:48, Regehr LA (tripping) 15:55.

Referees -- Greg Kimmerly, Dan O'Halloran.

Linesmen -- Ryan Galloway, Vaughan Rody.

Attendance -- 15,004.

"Ø"Ø THE HARD WAY:

There was great risk in the way the Jets trailed the speed of the game in the first. They also overcame another big obstacle - the Kings owned the faceoff circle on Friday. L.A. won the faceoff match in every period, by counts of 15-6, 12-8 and 13-9. Jim Slater was the Jets' only plus man, at 9-for- 17. It's very difficult to win in the NHL when you're not starting with the puck.

THE HARD WAY II:

In going 2-0 to start the season, the Jets have bucked the odds. For a second straight night, they lost the special-teams battle to their opponents and came out with a clean two points. The Kings, with their third-period surge on Friday, wound up two-for-five on the power play. Winnipeg went one-for-six.

UP NEXT:

Sunday, 7 p.m., MTS Centre

TSN Jets, TSN 1290

-- Tim Campbell

Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 10.05.2013

719658 Winnipeg Jets

Carter's metamorphosis

Flyers, Jackets gave up on Kings sniper way too early

By: Gary Lawless

Posted: 10/5/2013 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

One man's beat-up Samsonite is another's Louis Vuitton. Meet Jeff Carter and his Stanley Cup-pedigreed baggage.

Some luggage has style and value and stays in the family for years. Some finds its way to the end of the driveway on a drizzly garbage day.

The Philadelphia Flyers decided a little too early to put Carter on the baggage tram to nowhere. So did the Columbus Blue Jackets.

But Los Angeles Kings GM Dean Lombardi went and rescued Carter from a short stint in Columbus to team him with his old Flyers running mate, Mike Richards.

The move came early in the winter of 2013 and put the final piece in place for a team that would go on to win the Stanley Cup that spring.

Carter was labelled a malcontent in Philadelphia and Columbus. In Los Angeles he became a Cup winner and a reborn sniper with a ticket to Sochi just waiting to get punched.

"I've known him a long time. When he got to Philly, I was working there and he used to get rides to the rink from me because we were staying in the same area. I knew he was a good kid," said Lombardi Friday.

"The stuff they said about him in Philly, he was just a kid being a kid. We give these kids all this money and don't expect them to go through some changes. It doesn't work that way. He had to grow up like anyone else. He's getting better right now."

Since breaking into the NHL in 2005-06, only 14 players have collected more goals than Carter's 229. Last season he pumped in 26 in just 48 games to lead the Western Conference. Carter had a 46-goal season with the Flyers in 2008-09 and signed an 11-year contract worth $58 million. He was expected to be a Flyer for life. Same with Richards. Then boom. They were both shipped out and the whispers of bad behaviour became loud shots in the media. Carter didn't like it in Columbus, and in the end, Columbus didn't like him. Diva was an easy label to tag on him.

But since arriving in Los Angeles, he's been one of the game's most dangerous players, as Jets fans saw Friday night, when he potted his second goal of the season in the third period.

"People that gave him that reputation, they didn't know Jeff Carter. He's a talent. He was a big part of our Cup team. Scored big goals. Played two positions. Played lots of minutes. Killed penalties, played power play," said Kings coach Darryl Sutter. "Last year he was the leading scorer in the Western Conference. His play speaks for itself."

Lombardi, who was in the player personnel department with the Flyers when Carter broke in, says he's seen a change in the man and the player.

"The last couple of years he's taken a huge jump. I think it's a reflection of his growth and maturity as much as a person as a player. He's one of the leaders in our room now. The last couple of years he's spent a lot of time in the summer in L.A. training. That wasn't always Jeff's MO when he was younger," said Lombardi.

Carter is the ultimate right place at the right time guy and that's no easy trick. Not only does he have the instinct and speed to put him in prime scoring areas but also possesses the hands to convert.

"He's a goal scorer. He's a shooter. In my opinion, top two or three in the league. Maybe (Alex) Ovechkin has a better shot," said Richards. "He has the knack of finding the holes. Some people will say it was a lucky bounce and it came right to you. You have to work hard to be in the right position and then you have to finish. He has the best release I've ever seen and he shoots it hard."

Richards knows Carter maybe better than anyone in hockey. They play on the same line and rely on each other night after night. The Kenora-born Richards says Carter is only now reaching the height of his powers and it's coming from a change within.

"He's put a bigger emphasis on his fitness. He came in this year and he was top-three on the team in testing. That wasn't expected from him in prior years," said Richards. "He was so naturally gifted coming into the NHL he didn't need it. He works out after every practice... He's so powerful now, and it makes him better."

A request to speak with Carter for this story was made but he wouldn't comply Friday morning prior to the game.

"He's quiet. Media-wise he's not going to come out here and open up to you. But the more you get to know him, the more he'll open up," said Richards. "And you see it here. He's become a leader. More vocal on the bench and in the room. He never complains. He just puts his head down and goes about his business."

Baggage? Certainly. But we all have that. More telling and pertinent is that Carter continues to soar.

Maybe he checked his luggage and then just left it behind for others to fuss about.

Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 10.05.2013

719659 Winnipeg Jets

Some Oilers accusing Trouba of head-hunting

By: Tim Campbell

Posted: 10/5/2013 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

A bit of bleating by bloggers in Edmonton this week over something that didn't happen, ignoring something that did.

Apparently the Oilers were upset Tuesday when Jets rookie defenceman Jacob Trouba barely missed a hard check on Edmonton forward Taylor Hall, calling it a head hunt.

"I don't see that," Jets coach Claude Noel said. "He's a player that plays with bite."

Trouba shook his head at the accusation.

"I don't know," he said. "I didn't even hit him. How's that head-hunting? Don't think I did anything wrong."

Trouba took his run, but nothing came of it.

A player who didn't miss earlier in the game was Oilers defenceman Ladislav Smid, who smacked Mark Scheifele's head into the glass, from behind, not once but twice.

-- -- --

Asked if he' had been "worried" about what might happen to the rookie after he played so well in Game 1, Noel summed it up nicely.

"I think it's too early to tell," Noel said about the young defenceman. "I don't worry too much about Jacob right now. He's played pretty well. He's a confident guy.

"The biggest thing we have to recognize is that he's a 19-year-old player. We have to keep things in perspective. He's going to have ups and downs. This happens with all players. We've only played one game. We're talking too much about him in my opinion."

-- -- --

The game notes for the Kings on Friday night mentioned that Anze Kopitar holds the team record for consecutive games, 330.

Better news for the Kings: Friday marked consecutive game No. 2 for defenceman Will Mitchell, who's back in the lineup after missing the entire lockout campaign because of concussion issues.

Mitchell played 24:28 seconds in Thursday's shootout win in Minnesota. Friday night he played 19:52 and didn't look rusty. With 721 career NHL games in 14 seasons, the 36-year-old defenceman will make the Kings back end better, if that's possible, if he's back to complete health this season.

-- -- --

Make of this what you will, but good teams will make their energy the difference when their opponents come in front out of town, having played the night before.

Friday marked the first of nine such occasions this season for the Jets, when the Kings paid a visit after playing Thursday in Minnesota.

Four of them come this month, the next Sunday night against the Ducks. Anaheim plays Saturday in Minnesota.

-- -- --

With Grant Clitsome still hurt, the Jets have at least delayed their shift of defence pairings. During training camp, there was both talk and evidence each member of the team's former No. 1 duo of Toby Enstrom and Dustin Byfuglien were bound for other partners this season.

Clitsome was to draw Byfuglien, and Enstrom would move over with Zach Bogosian, but early on, it's been Enstrom and Byfuglien together still.

"It doesn't matter," Enstrom said on Friday. "I'm just sticking to my game."

Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 10.05.2013

719660 Winnipeg Jets

Jets snapshots: Pass the glow sticks

By Paul Friesen ,Winnipeg Sun

First posted: Friday, October 04, 2013 10:44 PM CDT | Updated: Friday, October 04, 2013 11:33 PM CDT

Just when you thought the Winnipeg Jets were going to do things the easy way, by winning a game going away, they put everybody on their edges of their seats in the third period, Friday night.

A 4-1 lead in the third against the Los Angeles Kings, who’d played the night before, would have you home and cooled, you’d think.

But 4-1 quickly became 4-3, thanks to two Kings power play goals, and collars were tight on the Jets bench right up until Bryan Little’s empty-net goal in the final minute.

That’s two games with plenty of warts to pick at, but also four early-season points in the bank.

It’s a hell of a lot better than bleeding your way into a hole, and trying to climb out of it later.

Among the things we learned in this one: the Jets remain slow starters, as they looked like the ones who’d played the night before, not L.A.

“We played our game after the first period, and we’ve got to do that right off the bat,” said Devin Setoguchi, whose two third-period goals less than three minutes apart blew open a 2-1 game.

Evander Kane initially got credit for one of those, but Setoguchi didn’t mind stealing his linemate’s thunder, which was rumbling all night.

“The kid scores a lot of goals, so I wouldn’t mind taking that one,” he said.

ENGAGED, ALL RIGHT: Kane had an eventful night, making it two in a row.

The Jets winger scored a goal in the first, got into a fight with Colin Fraser in the second and seemed to have a special affinity for a certain section of the rink, sending a wave in that direction during his pre-game introduction and again after his goal.

We can only presume it was aimed at his girlfriend-turned-fiancee, who’d agreed to get married some 24 hours earlier. A photo of the bauble on her finger was making the rounds on the web, Friday.

Kane was quite a force, throwing his weight at Kings defencemen whenever he could and beating Jonathan Quick with a quick wrist shot from near the blue line in the first period.

But he wasn’t himself on a two-on-one with Jacob Trouba, making a rare decision to pass up the shot.

His pass was less successful than his proposal.

ABOUT THAT CALDER: Trouba had a rough night, compared to his rookie-of-the-year type performance in Game 1.

The second period caught Trouba in a couple of mistakes, roaming in his own zone and forced to make a great recovery to prevent a sure goal in one instance, then holding onto the puck too long and having his pocket picked by Trevor Lewis, forcing Ondrej Pavelec to make a tough stop.

More of the same came in the third.

Alas, a couple of reminders the guy is a teenaged rookie.

Trouba’s play to create the two-on-one with Kane, though, was another example of the heady play of this 19-year-old.

He jumped into the play when most rookies would have held back, seeing the opportunity others wouldn’t.

THE RIGHT CALL: A bizarre sequence in the second period started with the net coming well off its moorings behind Quick.

Play went the other way, but the officials didn’t notice. At least, not until the Jets came back on the rush, Blake Wheeler taking full advantage of the extra-yawning cage to score from a bad angle.

It took an off-ice review from NHL headquarters to get the call right.

Rule 78.5, if you’re wondering.

OH, OLLI: It took Olli Jokinen 11 games, but he finally got goal No. 300 of his career, lofting a rebound past Quick to give the Jets a 2-1 lead in the second.

Kane made sure he got the puck as a souvenir.

The monkey off his back Jokinen hopes he never sees again.

FIRST STAR: Highlight of a solid first period by Ondrej Pavelec might have been his quick glove on Mike Richards with about six minutes to go.

Trouble is, his teammates followed that by losing the ensuing faceoff (Jim Slater), throwing the puck blindly up the middle (Dustin Byfuglien), then sticking out a skate to deflect a point shot into his own net (Byfuglien, again) — a shot that would have been way wide.

THE PRELIMS: The Jets still have a ways to go before they’re in the same league as The Habs when it comes to opening ceremonies.

Then again, there’s not a lot of history to celebrate, is there? Especially when their history is Atlanta’s.

What are they going to do, bring back Ilya Kovalchuk or Scott Mellanby for the show?

When you don’t have torches to pass, I guess glow-sticks have to do.

Winnipeg Sun LOADED 10.05.2013

719661 Winnipeg Jets

Jets play ‘the right way’ to advance past Kings 5-3 in home opener

By Ken Wiebe ,Winnipeg Sun

First posted: Friday, October 04, 2013 10:18 PM CDT | Updated: Friday, October 04, 2013 11:33 PM CDT

Measuring stick game, you say?

Although it’s a tad early to start planning the parade route, the Winnipeg Jets passed this stiff test, earning a 5-3 triumph over the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night in their home opener before 15,004 adoring fans inside MTS Centre.

This marked the first time in three tries that the Jets were able to send their fans away happy in a home opener, following losses to the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators.

Things got interesting late as the Kings scored a pair of power-play goals just under five minutes apart to make it a one-goal goal but captain Andrew Ladd made an unselfish play to free linemate Bryan Little for an empty-net goal with 47.3 seconds left to salt this one away and help the Jets improve to 2-0 on the young season.

How did the Jets measure up against one of the elite teams in the Western Conference?

“We did a good job, for the most part, of sticking up for each other and playing physical,” said Evander Kane, who had a goal, two assists, eight shots, five hits, a blocked shot and a fight to round out his modern-day Gordie Howe hat trick. “We got to the body early and against a team like L.A. that is a heavy team, you have to let them know you’re not going to be run out of your own building.”

If the season-opening 5-4 loss was marred by mistakes and costly turnovers, Friday’s game was more about playing “the right way” — as Ladd frequently calls it.

The Jets’ priorities were basic: protect the puck better, take the body and use their speed.

Finding a way to enforce your will on the Kings is not an easy thing to do and not surprisingly, it was the Kings who came out strong, looking nothing like a team that had played the night before and flown in from Minnesota.

Just past the midway point of the second period, the Jets turned the tables, getting a rebound goal from Olli Jokinen (the 300th of his NHL career) at 12:54 to give them a lead that would be expanded to 4-1 after tip-in and wraparound goals from Devin Setoguchi, who had three points in the game.

“Our second periods in this building seem to be our best period,” said Kane. “We’d like them all to be, but we got more pucks to the net, guys were hungry down low and we put the pressure on them. You can’t sit back when you have leads and you have to continue to put pressure on them, no matter what the score is in the game.”

After giving up four goals in the opener, Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec was sharp, especially early, as he helped his team stay in the game during a first period that saw the Kings carry a decisive edge in play.

The Kings scored first, taking advantage of a costly turnover up the middle by Dustin Byfuglien and a slapper from the right point from Matt Greene that caromed in off the left skate of Byfuglien.

Jeff Carter’s goal in the third also seemed to change direction off the skate of Jets defenceman Mark Stuart and Justin Williams scored at 15:44 on a point-blank shot (with five seconds left in a high-sticking minor to Kane) Pavelec still finished with 33 saves and the Jets wouldn’t have won this game without him.

“He held us in the game early on and that was the difference,” said Setoguchi.

Kings goalie Jonathan Quick didn’t even get to finish the game, yanked by Kings head coach Darryl Sutter after giving up four goals on 27 shots and giving way to backup Ben Scrivens.

Ultimately, the Jets showed some improvement but also got a glimpse of just how committed they need to be to hang with the Big Boys of the Wild West.