Game 15 vs. Chicago: Pavelec, Monty and Entries

10 years ago

There’s only really one word that can sum up this game for me. Outclassed.

Zone Entries

5 vs 5	Player	# of successful entries	Shots (From Entries)	Shots/Entry	Controlled Entries	Shots (Controlled Entries)	% With Control	% That Fail
2	Pardy	1	1	1.00	1	1	100%	0.0%
9	Kane	9	6	0.67	3	3	33%	40.0%
12	Jokinen	2	1	0.50	2	1	100%	33.3%
14	Peluso	3	0	0.00	0	0	0%	N/A
15	Halischuk	6	7	1.17	3	4	50%	40.0%
16	Ladd	10	5	0.50	3	2	30%	40.0%
17	Wright	2	0	0.00	0	0	0%	100.0%
18	Little	3	0	0.00	2	0	67%	0.0%
22	Thorburn	2	1	0.50	2	1	100%	66.7%
24	Clitsome	1	1	1.00	1	1	100%	0.0%
26	Wheeler	9	3	0.33	4	2	44%	0.0%
33	Byfuglien	2	3	1.50	2	3	100%	0.0%
39	Enstrom	3	1	0.33	0	0	0%	N/A
40	Setoguchi	5	1	0.20	1	0	20%	50.0%
44	Bogosian	2	0	0.00	0	0	0%	100.0%
55	Scheifele	6	3	0.50	3	2	50%	0.0%
63	Chiarot	0	0	N/A	0	0	N/A	N/A
67	Frolik	5	2	0.40	3	1	60%	0.0%
	TEAM	71	35	0.49	30	21	42%	36.2%
	OPP	86	27	0.31	46	19	53%	20.7%
	OZF	16	4	0.25
	DZF	22	4	0.18

Observations

The Blackhawks had more entries, a higher percentage with control, and a much lower percentage that failed on the night. They did have a smaller number of shots from their entries, but I contribute this to their satisfaction with simply controlling the puck around the boards and killing time once they had the three-goal lead. Once the third period came around it appeared as if most of the team “gave up”, in the fact that the effort to attempt a comeback really didn’t seem to be there. To me, that’s a problem.
Jokinen had a bit of a down game between Kane and Wheeler in term of helping them create anything. I get the feeling that he and Scheifele are going to end up flip-flopping all year long, as Scheif had a pretty good game.
Thorburn had a lot of failed entries this game. I’m not a fan of his, and I would really much rather see Tangradi out there. The Central really isn’t a division that is loaded with “fighters”, meaning Thorburn’s roll is extremely diminished. Anthony Peluso can drop the mitts if needed, so I don’t really get why Thorburn is still around. (Outside of being Kane’s bestie of course)
One player whose effort you can never question is Andrew Ladd. Things may have been out of hand for much of the game, but Ladd did as best he could to get that puck deep. He was really the only one able to get anything moving on that line. Of concern though, was his high number of fails as well. It was likely the root cause to him resorting to dumping the puck, but that can’t be all the Jets do.
For the first time in a while we are able to see a game with multiple defenseman carrying the puck into the zone. They were pretty successful in doing so as well. I’m convinced it’s coaching that’s preventing it from happening more often, and I still don’t agree with the idea. If the past is any indication, the Jets need their defensemen providing offense for things to work efficiently.

Pavelec (and Montoya) Performance

Pavelec wasn’t great on the night, but of all times for a lot of the MSM to start calling for him to be better, I’m surprised they chose this game. Not that I’m complaining that this is finally being talked about, but I think it’s weird that it’s coming during a year that he isn’t necessarily the biggest issue.

Regardless, Montoya was solid when he came into the game, despite the fact that the game was already out of hand. He made a couple pretty big saves and has once again made a case for more playing time.

Goal	Situation	Why It Went In	Where It Went
1	Average Play (DZF Loss)	Beat Clean (Pavelec Fault)	Glove Hand
2	Two-On-One	Beat Clean (Pavelec Fault)	Blocker
3	Breakaway	Beat Clean	Open Net
4	Sustained Pressure	Traffic	Pads

Quick Explanations

This was one heck of a shot from Hjalmarsson. He beats Pavelec glove side following a clean faceoff win. It would have been a tough save for Pavelec to make, but it would have been a nice one to grab.

On a longer replay, the CBC commentators agree that Pavelec has to have this, and I’m with them. As a goalie, you have to expect your defenseman to have the pass across during a 2-on-1. If you watch, Pavelec twitches towards sliding across as Bollig starts his shot, and he is positioned off-center enough to get beat blocker side.

A bad change and a turnover at Chicago’s blue line is quickly turned into a breakaway for Patrick Sharp. You can’t fault Pavelec for this goal, but I have noticed a trend. Pav loves the poke check. A couple times already he has attempted one in hopes of stopping a break away and he has been ridiculously unsuccessful both times. Maybe just try to make the save next time Ondrej.

As much as I hate that a slap shot along the ice went in, Pav had to look through a forest to try to stop it. He was slow to close up that five hole (likely because he saw that a shot was coming late), and Chicago chased Pav from the net.

The lone goal on Montoya was the result of an unfortunate deflection in front. I didn’t like Montoya’s positioning on this goal when you consider where the shot came from, nor do I like how low his glove was. Nonetheless it was simply a safety goal for Chicago, as the game was long over before this point.

Things to Watch For

The Jets face the forever-successful Red Wings at home Monday night, for another tough November match up. Here are a few things to watch for moving forward:

How will Evander Kane adjust? Teams are clearly focusing on Evander lately. In order for him to take the next step towards NHL stardom, he has to figure out a way to move forward despite the added attention. I’m curious to see how he does it.
Will the defensemen be allowed to activate anytime soon? I understand the West is different from the East. The thing is, the Jets were built for the East, and they rely on active defensemen to get the puck in the net. Will Claude loosen Byfuglien’s leash at all, or will he keep in reeled in? Similarly, will we see Enstrom back with Buff to make up for those chances?
How does this fourth line get fixed? This group barely touches the ice, and when they do, they are ineffective. Jim Slater coming back will obviously help, but things need to get better. You can’t win with three lines for very long.

Final Thought

The Jets are officially in second last in the West. I don’t know about you, but even though I had a feeling a tough year was coming I’m getting tired of this team losing. A couple of wins would be nice guys. Please?