MONTREAL -- Bryan Little couldn't help but thrust his arms in the air and look up just for a second.
Despite numerous scoring chances during a 16-game goal-less stretch, the Thrashers forward finally found the back of the net against Philadelphia on March 17 prompting the brief celebration. He has scored three times in the past five games starting with that shot. He has goals in the last two games against Vancouver and Ottawa, giving him 17.
Little has had plenty of shots bounce off posts and crossbars in what could have been a frustrating season.
“I don’t know how long it’s been,” Little said after the goal against the Flyers. “I stopped counting games. I was playing well and getting a lot of chances. It seemed like every chance I got it was finding ways to miss. I wasn’t getting too frustrated but it definitely was a huge relief to get that one.”
Thrashers coach Craig Ramsay hoped that goal would spark Little, who had 13 goals last season after 31 during the previous campaign.
“I was concerned for him,” Ramsay said. “Players start to put inordinate pressure on themselves. He was playing well. I haven’t seen that many players bang pucks off goals and they don’t go in. Crazy things have been going on. He continued to play well."
Lessons learned from last season helped Little deal with the goal drought. This season, he switched to center, which demands more defensive responsibility than the wing. Yet he wanted to prove he is closer to the 31-goal scorer than the 13-goal scorer. By his own count, Little hit the post or crossbar twice with a shot three different times this season.
“Maybe last year, when I was going through a time like that, I think the rest of my game went down with it because I would get so frustrated and mad with myself,” Little said. “When I went through that I wasn’t playing that great. This year I think I was more relaxed and figured if I kept playing well that sooner or later it would go in.”
Little won’t match his first full season total in the NHL, but 20 goals coupled with his role as the top-line center will make for a successful season. He has a career-high 27 assists for 44 points and heads into Tuesday night’s game against Montreal with a team leading plus-9. He is one of three players who began the season with the Thrashers to have a plus rating. Little is also fourth in the NHL with 76 steals, three behind teammate Dustin Byfuglien, giving them the top two spots in the Eastern Conference.
“This is a kid who can really play,” Ramsay said. “He’s intense and he wants to play. We ask him to do an awful lot. It is vital for our team when they see a guy like that skating and shooting; it rubs off on others as well.”
Ramsay wants all his players to shoot more. Little gets regular reminders.
“The coaches say to me before every game, ‘Get a lot of shots. Shoot the puck tonight,’” Little said. “I’ve been trying to do that. I was getting quite a few shots and I knew it was just a matter of time before one of them went in.”
Slater, others done for season
Ramsay conceded Monday that the season is over for three players, including Jim Slater who has missed 38 games with a concussion. Freddy Meyer and Patrice Cormier, both out with upper-body injuries, are also done with seven games remaining.
“I don’t expect that even if they were suddenly cleared they could mount any kind of comeback,” Ramsay said. “I wouldn’t think so. I just wouldn’t make any sense.”
Slater and Meyer, who has missed 21 games, are on injured reserve. Cormier has missed 16 games.
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