OTTAWA -- Jaromir Jagr says, sooner or later, the goals are going to come for him. First, he needs to get his timing down with his linemates.
As much as it appears Jagr is a perfect fit with James van Riemsdyk and Claude Giroux, he insists that he still doesnt have the instinct portion down with his themthat is, when he knows automatically where they are on the ice.
Jagr will be looking for his first goal of the season Tuesday night as the Flyers are in Ottawa to face the hapless Senators.
Everybody wants to score goals, Jagr said. You have to work with what is on your line. I like to play on the boards. I think J.V. should be the guy who waits in the slot. So is G. The line has to work together. If everybody is going to wait in the slot, then who is going to pass it?
At my age 39, it doesnt matter if I score. If the team wins and the lines score, that makes me happy. We got scoring chances. But it comes in cycles.
You score in different positions. As long as you get chances. I think we should get more chances. But we still have to learn how to play as a line. Its not easy.
Coach Peter Laviolette doesnt seem too worried.
NHL
Hes done an excellent job coming in and providing offense for our team, Laviolette said. Its just a matter of time before he does find the back of the net.
Consistently, his line is in on the scoring chances for four games now. Theyve done a really nice job of creating offense. I would think its just a matter of time.
Jagr said he is still adjusting to the smaller ice surface in the NHL after having played the past three years on the wider surface in Europe.
Over there you can have more patience and wait with the puck and make plays, Jagr said. Here, everything has to be quick. It doesnt go right away to your head. You have to adjust.
Not only quick skating, but quick thinking, quick stick-handling. Everything has to be quicker on smaller ice because there are so many bodies there.
Are you telling yourself that on the ice?
All the time, but it doesnt go that quick, Jagr replied. It was same thing when I went to the big ice and left the NHL. I had to adjust to that. I knew it would happen. Seventy-eight games left. I hope it comes soon.
Jagr wasnt pleased with his game against Los Angeles over the weekend. He said he is burning up too much energy in neutral ice. By the time he gets into the offensive zone, hes a bit depleted.
Sometimes I am using my energy somewhere I shouldnt and when I need it, its not there, he said. That is frustrating. I have to be smarter.
This team plays a different system. And the way we play is very aggressive. Its more system for quicker guys, who like to skate all the time.
Which is why, Jagr said, he needs to figure out how not to waste his energy.
Jagr was playing with reporters about not being a goal scorer.
I like to play one-on-one on the boards, he smiled.
You scored 62 goals once, he was told.
Yeah, but I was good back then, Jagr laughed. If I had been a good goal scorer, I would have had 80. Trust me.
In all seriousness, Jagr says his game is still evolving this season.
I know that I am not there yet, he said.
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcastnet.com