Pavelec taking comeback slow and steady

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This article was published 20/01/2016 (3550 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Thursday marks two months since Winnipeg Jets No. 1 goalie Ondrej Pavelec went down with a knee injury.

Pavelec has been on the ice last week doing light activity but not participating yet in practice.

Expectations

Wednesday was another such day, but the Jets and coach Paul Maurice continue to keep expectations low for the goalie’s immenent return. He refused even anything vague on the matter Wednesday, including the chance to say Pavelec would be ready once the all-star game passes at the end of the month.

“You just keep it to stages,” Maurice said. “You just keep adding five minutes and increasing the workload. And by the time he’s fully cleared from the staff, then he’s got to get back into game crap and that’s not a one-day event for a goalie.

“Every day he comes in and there certainly hasn’t been a setback. There hasn’t been a day where he’s been overly sore or (more) sore than we thought he would be. We’ll just keep adding to it.”

Maurice’s goaltending situation has been held up with sturdiness from rookie Connor Hellebuyck, but the coach was asked if he’s been impatient with Pavelec’s injury.

“No. I’m always impatient for every injury,” he said.

“You’d like a guy to heal faster but the downside to ever playing a guy before he’s ready is just so big, especially somebody like this. And then there’s the guy, and you’ve seen it with Carey Price. You go back and everybody fully believes the guy’s 100 per cent ready and he may well be and then the injury that can happen at any point in the year happens again and then you’re wondering, ‘Was one more day all I needed to wait?’ So we’re patient with him.”

Thursday night marks the 26th game of Pavelec’s injury absence and he’ll be joined by centres Mark Scheifele and Adam Lowry and winger Drew Stafford as scratches.

Scheifele and Stafford skated apart from the team Wednesday and felt somewhat better, Maurice reported. Lowry didn’t skate Wednesday.

All three players are on the injured reserve list. It will be third absence in a row for Lowry and Stafford and the sixth for Scheifele.

Forward Alex Burmistrov missed practice but Maurice said Burmistrov will take today’s morning skate and is likely to play.

With three able forwards out of his top nine, Maurice has a different look to his lines.

The second line, with Mathieu Perreault centring youngsters Nikolaj Ehlers and Joel Armia, is an unexpected combination but it seems to be getting Maurice’s blood running at least a little.

“Everybody’s got to try to keep the puck out of their net and everybody tries to score goals,” the coach said. “It’s a different look with Mathieu at centre and not on the wing and with Joel getting his first time in the NHL with more offensive-minded players.

“Nik Ehlers looks like he’s getting that second wind back in his game so they’re pretty exciting offensively. When they’re at pace and at speed, they can do some pretty good things with the puck.”

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca