Ondrej Pavelec cements himself as Jets playoff starter

ANAHEIM – Talking to Ondrej Pavelec, there’s a certain sense he really wants the opportunity to backstop Winnipeg to a win in Game 2 against Anaheim. And it’s more than just a pro athlete cliché type thing.

In a corner of the Honda Center, when asked about his first playoff experience and what to expect in the second game, the 6-foot-3 Pavelec starts to motion more with his hands, his answer flowing through his entire body.

“That’s why you play hockey, to play those games,” he said. “We lost Game 1, but I thought we played a really good game and we know we can play those guys. For me, the atmosphere was great. The fans were great, I’m just excited to go play. That’s why you became a hockey player – to play for a Stanley Cup, right? So now it’s time.”

With Pavelec, it has always been about tempering his energetic athleticism with the technicalities of playing goal in the NHL. It’s a tough balance, that takes time. It took Jonathan Quick – a goaltender built along the same lines as Pavelec – around three seasons to finally figure out how to translate his explosiveness around the crease into proficiency. For the 27-year-old Pavelec, it has taken a bit longer – closer to five seasons – for him to ‘get it’ to some degree. 

And his late-season reemergence as Winnipeg’s starter has turned the Jets into a Stanley Cup contender.

“He has the ability to be an athletic, reflex-oriented goalie,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said. “When we’ve put him in a position where he doesn’t have to be, you can also see he’s technically quite sound.” 

Pavelec finished the season with a 2.28 goals against average and .920 save percentage in 50 games. But there’s more to Pavelec’s season than just those numbers. There were many pitfalls and struggles along the way. He lost the starting job to rookie Michael Hutchinson mid-season. There was the horrible neutral zone game-winning goal by Barret Jackman on Pavelec in early March – during a time when the Jets were fighting hard to make the playoffs. We also wrote a story about how Hutchinson had brought stability in goal for the ‘Peg in January.

Pavelec dealt with all those barriers, some of which he obviously created himself, and nudged himself into this starting role for now. This is why when you ask his teammates about him, they seem to marvel at how he just seems to shrug off all the adversity.

“He doesn’t allow things to affect him. Whether it’s a tough bounce or getting smoked in warmup, he always seems to have that calm, cool demeanor. It’s always something that we enjoy,” captain Andrew Ladd said, referring to the moment before Game 1 against Anaheim when he almost took out Pavelec. It’s actually pretty funny per the video.

 Said forward Blake Wheeler, “He’s the reason we’re here right now.”

 Pavelec confirms these notions about his Taylor Swift/Paul MacLean ability to shake it off.

 In regards to losing then regaining the starting job, “You know what, I’ve been in a competition pretty much my whole career,” he said.

 This is true. From his time with the Thrashers through now, the Atlanta/Winnipeg organization has been waiting for him to take over the starting job.

 As for the Jackman goal, “It was on TV for the next 24 hours, all highlights top-10, but after one day, everything settled down and was back to normal.”

 And after that St. Louis game, Pavelec went on a run of six straight wins. In those contests he never allowed more than two goals in a game. Pavelec finished the year with three straight shutouts in regulation and/or overtime (one was a shootout loss) to propel the Jets into the postseason with a .965 save percentage the last four games of the season.

 But with Pavelec, there’s always questions every game he plays, as to whether he actually has arrived as a legit starter in the NHL. Will he suddenly revert to the guy who won just five games combined in December, January and February? Or is this hot streak more than just that? Evidence suggests otherwise.

 “I think he looks bigger in the net. He looks a little calmer,” Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano said. “I think he’s not a small goalie and he’ll be able to cover most of the net. When he is moving, he’s still in pretty good position.” 

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper