Ondrej Pavelec is now the most-wanted man in Texas after single-handedly stealing two points for the Winnipeg Jets Thursday night.
Pavelec faced 96 attempted shots, stopped 46 of the 47 shots that did get through, and generally stood on his head, as he backstopped the Jets to victory.
At the other end of the ice, Stars goaltender Anders Lindback faced a mere 22 shots. Michael Frolik took a nifty pass from Mattheiu Perreault in the first, to make it 1-0, and Evander Kane whiffed on a shorthanded shot that bounced off a skate to make it 2-0 midway through the third period.
The game started relatively evenly, with both teams getting shots and chances. The second period saw a complete disappearance of the Jets defensively. Dallas posted 22 shots in the second, another 16 in the third, many of them quality scoring chances. Winnipeg, in comparison, managed a total of 11 shots over the same 40 minutes. Certainly not their finest hour.
This is the sort of game the Winnipeg Jets need to forget, and fast. Take the two points, regroup, and get back to playing the sort of game that put them up 3-0 in 10 minutes vs. Los Angeles – the hard-hitting, heavy forecheck style that is defensively committed, and maintains puck possession.
Ten Thoughts
- For a team that is supposed to be dedicated to puck possession, tonight was about as much of an off-game as you could imagine. Coach Maurice will be looking to set things right before the puck drops tomorrow in Chicago.
- Matthieu Perreault – so hot right now. 26 points in his last 25 games. Three million per year – with two more years to go on the contract. #WhatChevyDidInTheOffSeason
- For the first time in 5 games, Pavelec allowed something other than 4 goals.
- Evander Kane – 3 goals in his last 3 games, and seems to be heating up nicely, and just when it is needed.
- Dallas went 0/7 on the power-play. That is good for the Jets PK unit. It's terrible, though, because it means that the Jets still haven't found a way to stay out of the penalty box.
- I successfully called Andrew Ladd as being the first Jet to the penalty box. I did not win the Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) Twitter contest for free pizza. I suspect it was rigged.
- The Jets were 0/2 on the PP, but notched their league-leading 6th SHG. Of course, if they weren't shorthanded so often, they likely wouldn't have as many…
- Wins by San Jose, Vancouver, Minnesota, Colorado, and Calgary mean that the Jets only pulled away from Dallas tonight. The bottom four western playoff spots remain a dogfight with 5 points between 5th place and 9th.
- With the defensive corps nearly 100% (Jacob Trouba skated today), does GM Kevin Chevaldayoff need to deal one of them for a legitimate linemate for Adam Lowry and Evander Kane? Or to shore up a terrible 4th line?
- Anyone think Michael Hutchinson can hold the Chicago Blackhawks to 1 or fewer goals again tomorrow night?
