Pavelec, Jets, trip up Coyotes
WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Ondrej Pavelec made a triumphant -- if not inconsistent -- return to the NHL Wednesday night to help his team to a 6-3 victory over the Arizona Coyotes, officially closing the book on the Jets goaltending controversy.
Until the next crisis, that is.
Called up from the Manitoba Moose on Tuesday, the 29-year-old stopped 30 shots in his first NHL game since last season.
The Jets had six different goal scorers in the win.
The Coyotes opened the scoring on the first NHL shot Pavelec saw this season.
Fourth-line center Josh Jooris skated down the left wing and ripped a low shot to the glove side that found mesh at 2:49.
Winnipeg responded 47 seconds later when Josh Morrissey's point shot deflected off a Coyotes defender and past Mike Smith at 3:36.
The Coyotes retook the lead on a two-man advantage before the period was half over. With defensemen Paul Postma and Toby Enstrom in the box for tripping and slashing, respectively, the puck squirted out to defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and he snapped his ninth of the season over Pavelec's blocker at 8:50.
Jets captain Blake Wheeler scored early in the second frame to make it 2-2. During a passing clinic where every Jets skater touched the puck in the Coyotes' zone, left winger Mathieu Perreault found Wheeler in the slot and his wrist shot hit pay dirt at 3:03 for his 14th of the season.
Center Andrew Copp put Winnipeg up 3-2 a couple shifts later. Copp, fighting off some spirited hooking from defenseman Luke Schenn to Smith's right, wristed home his fifth at 4:42.
The Jets took a 4-2 lead when defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, after assessing the situation from behind his own net, found left winger Shawn Matthias cherry picking at the Coyotes blueline. The left winger took a few strides and hit a streaking Joel Armia in the slot. The right winger tipped home his third of the campaign at 12:49.
Defenseman Jacob Trouba put the game out of reach when he converted a rebound from right winger Drew Stafford between Smith's legs to give the Jets a 5-2 lead at 7:42 of the third. It was his third goal of the season.
Nik Ehlers officially turned the game into points night when his snap shot from the high slot beat Smith high to the glove side to give the Jets a 6-2 lead at 8:59. His 15th of the season was enough for Coyotes coach Dave Tippett, who pulled Smith in favor of Louis Domingue.
The Coyotes got one goal back in garbage time when Jakob Chychrun's backhand from close in tipped off Pavelec's glove and dribbled into the net at 14:42.
NOTES: Jets RW Patrik Laine, who has been out with a concussion for 10 days, skated for the first time Wednesday morning. He was joined in the press box by teammates LW Brandon Tanev and G Michael Hutchinson and Coyotes C Martin Hanzal, C Laurent Dauphin and D Kevin Connauton. ... Coyotes RW Shane Doan is the last member of the original Jets franchise still playing in the NHL. His first and only season in Winnipeg was 1995-96. His teammate, D Jakob Chychrun, was born two years later. ... Last season, Doan became just the second active player to score a goal at Winnipeg Arena and the MTS Centre. ... Coyotes rookie Max Domi was born in Winnipeg. His dad, Tie, played nearly three seasons with the original Jets in the early 1990s. ... The Coyotes lead the NHL with a 58.3 shooting percentage in shootouts.