Pavelec stones Blues to inch Jets closer to glory

By: Ed Tait Posted: 5:15 PM CDT Tuesday, Apr. 7, 2015 Last Modified: 12:05 AM CDT Wednesday, Apr. 8, 2015 | Updates

ST. LOUIS — He hasn’t just been big, he’s been mammoth. And so if the moniker fits — and it certainly does now — it might be time to attach it semi-permanently.

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ST. LOUIS — He hasn’t just been big, he’s been mammoth. And so if the moniker fits — and it certainly does now — it might be time to attach it semi-permanently.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/04/2015 (4125 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ST. LOUIS — He hasn’t just been big, he’s been mammoth. And so if the moniker fits — and it certainly does now — it might be time to attach it semi-permanently.

Ladies and gentlemen, we give you ‘Ondrej the Giant.’

The Winnipeg Jets inched closer to a Western Conference playoff spot Tuesday night in St. Louis, once again riding the stellar netminding of Ondrej Pavelec for their second shutout in as many nights in a 1-0 victory over the powerhouse Blues.

Chris Lee / Tribune Media TNS
The St. Louis Blues' Alex Pietrangelo (27) unsuccessfully tries to get a shot in on Winnipeg Jets goaltender Ondrej Pavalec in the first period. The Jets won the game 1-0. — Chris Lee / Tribune Media TNS The St. Louis Blues' Alex Pietrangelo (27) unsuccessfully tries to get a shot in on Winnipeg Jets goaltender Ondrej Pavalec in the first period. The Jets won the game 1-0.

Pavelec, in posting back-to-back shutouts for the first time in his career, kicked out all 30 shots he faced from an undermanned Blues side — missing both Vladimir Tarasenko and Alex Steen — as the Jets moved to 42-26-12 and 96 points to remain above the playoff line.

Coupled with the Los Angeles Kings loss to the Edmonton Oilers Tuesday, a Jets win or a Kings regulation loss Thursday will send Winnipeg to the playoffs.

The Jets were undermanned themselves, missing both Toby Enstrom and Dustin Byfuglien again, but were able to hang on as the Blues came in waves, particularly in the third.

“I was able to see it all game, but in the third period there were times when I had no idea and the puck was just missing the net,” said Pavelec with a grin. “You need that luck to have a shutout.”

Pavelec, get this, is now 9-2 in his last 11 starts. And remember, it was just over a month ago when much of Winnipeg would have chipped in to buy the bus/plane/boat ticket to run him out of town when he whiffed on Barret Jackman’s shot from outside the blueline to snuff out a late rally.

Since then hee has become THE story in the Jets turnaround. Interestingly, asked what’s different in his game of late, the veteteran Czech just shrugged.

“Nothing. I’ve said that so many times, but I don’t feel any different from the first than I felt in the first two months of the season,” he said. “Nothing at all. I didn’t change anything. The season sometimes goes this way. And sometimes it’s going not the way you want and you just have to stay in it and work hard and focus every game, every time you get the chance to play you have to play hard. You have no choice.”

Rest, schmest

Maurice opted to start Pavelec in goal against the Blues, saying after his 2-0 shutout of the Minnesota Wild Monday that “I got my goalie. I’ve got our guy.” The decision seemed like a no-brainer, given his work against the Wild and Pavelec having started 10 of the last 11 games while posting an 8-2 record with a 1.79 goals-against average and .944 save percentage.

But there were also some telling numbers that built a solid case for giving Pavelec a rest and turning to Michael Hutchinson. Pavelec was just 3-12-1 in his career with an .872 save percentage with zero days rest. Make that 4-12-1 now.

Critical moment

Pavelec and Jake Allen both stood on their heads in another goaltender’s duel, but aside from all the big stops — the two combined to kick out 60 of 61 shots — the one that did get behind the Jets puckstopper was wiped out by a penalty.

Blues forward Paul Stastny beat Pavelec from in tight with just over five minutes left in the second, but just before scoring had slashed the stick out of Tyler Myers hands. The officials ruled no goal, and the striped shirts became the most unpopular men in the building until the final horn.

“I think it was pretty clear he just slashed my stick out of my hand,” said Myers. “I don’t think there’s much to argue there if you look at the replay.

“It’s a play where the ref either calls it or doesn’t. It’s a good play by him if the ref doesn’t call it. But in my eyes, it was pretty blatant and I thought it was the right call.”

Tired, but true

Maurice beamed about his troops Tuesday. The win was big, but their work over the last two nights had the fingerprints of just about everybody all over the efforts.

“Good on the guys,” said Maurice. “(Monday) night’s game, there was a cost to it. You could see it at times tonight, not in terms of effort but in moving the puck and some things.

“Our goaltending was pretty good, everybody had a piece of the game and the goal comes from the line that played the least but had the biggest impact.”

For a breakdown of the playoffs standings, see this chart from NHL.com.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait

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