Pavelec back in goal as Jets beat Oilers in shootout
EDMONTON, Alberta — Ondrej Pavelec was thrilled to finally get back to work in the Winnipeg net.
Pavelec dressed for the first time since November and made 21 saves, and Andrew Ladd scored the shootout winner as the Winnipeg Jets came away with a 2-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night.
"To win always feels good," said Pavelec, who made his first start since Nov. 2 after missing 33 games with a knee injury. "It was nice to be back after almost three months. I enjoyed it. The guys did a great job to keep them outside and they were patient, they were waiting for their opportunities, and in the first few minutes, that helped me a lot."
Blake Wheeler scored in regulation for the Jets, who have won three of four.
Matt Hendricks had a goal for the Oilers, who have lost four of five.
"We didn't seem to execute in terms of our shots. We missed a lot of shots and a lot were blocked so we didn't seem to find the second and third opportunities off of rebounds," Hendricks said. "We got a point. It's a good sign. We were down by one late in the third and were able to tie it up and push in overtime."
The game started slowly with a scoreless first, and Edmonton holding an 8-5 lead in shots.
The Jets finally broke the deadlock 7 minutes into the second period on a 2-on-1 break with Nikolaj Ehlers feeding Wheeler, who beat Oilers goalie Laurent Brossoit for his 15th goal.
Brossoit made his first start of the season with Cam Talbot ill, and only his second in the NHL. The first was a 49-save performance against San Jose last April.
Brossoit made 32 saves in the shootout loss.
"Deja vu. Feeling good and not getting the result," Brossoit said when comparing his two NHL games.
Edmonton had a good chance just past the midway mark of the middle period on a short-handed breakaway for Teddy Purcell, but he wasn't able to get a good shot away on Pavelec.
The next Oilers short-handed breakaway connected, however, as Hendricks came in alone and beat Pavelec to the stick side with a snap shot to make it 1-all with 9 minutes to play in the third.
Edmonton had the best chance in overtime, but defenseman Eric Gryba sent a short-handed shot off the crossbar.
"We were real good through 50 minutes of hockey and I thought maybe a little longer than that," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "When we made some mistakes, our goaltender was the difference. We had some real good efforts by a number of defensemen tonight."
NOTES: Both teams are off until Tuesday. The Oilers host the Anaheim Ducks, and the Jets will travel to Carolina to face the Hurricanes. ... It was the second of three meetings this season between the teams. Edmonton beat the Jets 3-1 at Rexall Place on Dec. 21. ... It was the 400th career game for Edmonton's Jordan Eberle and the 200th for Mark Scheifele of the Jets. ... Despite being ill, Talbot was able to serve as the backup goalie for Edmonton — but he was not on the bench for the game. ... Out with injuries for the Oilers were Oscar Klefbom (lower body), Andrew Ference (hip) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (hand). ... Missing from the Winnipeg lineup was Grant Clitsome (back).
