It wasn't exactly the return of the prodigal son, but Ondrej Pavelec, fresh off of his call up from the Manitoba Moose, made some key saves that the Winnipeg Jets goaltenders have not been doing lately, to help the Jets defeat the Arizona Coyotes, 6-3 and snap a four-game losing streak.
When the Coyotes Josh Joorish opened the scoring on their first shot, every single Jets fan in the MTS Centre must have been thinking, "I knew it." But Pavelec shook it off and played, not brilliantly, but good enough to get two points. He did however, show flashes of brilliance on saves on Brendan Perlini, sliding across to deny a one-timer-tip; and a last-second paddle-save on Radim Vrbata, who had a wide-open cage. A goal there by the Coyotes could have been a momentum-switcher.
Blake Wheeler scored his 14th goal of the season, while Nikolaj Ehlers added his 15th. Jacob Trouba and Joel Armia each scored their third, and Bryan Little picked up his eighth. Andrew Copp knotted his fifth of the campaign.
This is just one game. They didn't start well and they did beat one of the doormats of the league this season
The real test for Pavelec and the Jets comes Saturday when the St. Louis Blues come to town. Then it's the Ducks, the Sharks and off to Chicago. These next four games are against not only real competition, but four of the best teams in the western conference. This is where the Jets mettle will be tested. I'm predicting three out of a possible eight points.
