Game 38 at Vancouver: Pavelec Performance Tracker and Neutral Zone Play
10 years ago
If you ever wanted to pick out a game in particular to highlight the questionable decision making of Claude Noel, this was it. Poor decision followed by poor decision likely cost the Jets at least a point in this game, and I personally am getting sick of it. Changes need to be made.
Zone Entries
5 vs 5 | Player | # of successful entries | Shots (All Entries) | Shots/Entry | Controlled Entries | Shots (From Control) | Shots/ Controlled | % With Control |
2 | Pardy | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 0% |
5 | Stuart | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 0% |
8 | Trouba | 4 | 3 | 0.75 | 3 | 3 | 1.00 | 75% |
9 | Kane | 5 | 2 | 0.40 | 3 | 2 | 0.67 | 60% |
12 | Jokinen | 5 | 3 | 0.60 | 2 | 2 | 1.00 | 40% |
14 | Peluso | 3 | 1 | 0.33 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 0% |
16 | Ladd | 5 | 2 | 0.40 | 2 | 1 | 0.50 | 40% |
17 | Wright | 4 | 2 | 0.50 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 0% |
18 | Little | 3 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 33% |
22 | Thorburn | 4 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 0% |
26 | Wheeler | 3 | 3 | 1.00 | 3 | 3 | 1.00 | 100% |
33 | Byfuglien | 5 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 0 | 0.00 | 40% |
39 | Enstrom | 3 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 0% |
40 | Setoguchi | 5 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 0% |
44 | Bogosian | 2 | 1 | 0.50 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 0% |
55 | Scheifele | 4 | 1 | 0.25 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 25% |
58 | O’Dell | 4 | 1 | 0.25 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 0% |
67 | Frolik | 5 | 2 | 0.40 | 3 | 2 | 0.67 | 60% |
JETS | 66 | 21 | 0.32 | 20 | 13 | 0.65 | 30% | |
OPP | 67 | 26 | 0.39 | 33 | 20 | 0.61 | 49% | |
OZF | 22 | 3 | 0.14 | |||||
DZF | 6 | 1 | 0.17 |
Observations
- Thirty percent of the Jets zone entries were controlled. That’s pitiful. Once again, the times that the Jets actually carried the puck into the zone, they had above average success in creating shot attempts. When you add in the times they dumped it in? Horrid. Yet under the direction of Claude Noel, the Jets are consistently dumping the puck in and chasing it down. It makes absolutely no sense.
- The Jets absolutely dominated the offensive zone faceoff totals in this game. Of course though, they didn’t take advantage of those opportunities with only THREE shots attempts on twenty two opportunities. How does this happen? This happens because offensive zone opportunities are not taken by a line that does anything offensively on a regular basis, but by the fourth line. And when the Canucks ice the puck twice in a row with a tired grouping? Why bother forcing them into a time out by putting your top line on when you can put Chris Thorburn on the ice? Logic.
- Olli Jokinen actually had a decent game in the neutral zone. The problem though, is that those entries and shots came mostly during situations that he was on the ice with someone other than Chris Thorburn. Heck, Thorburn and Setoguchi had absolutely no production whatsoever. But let’s keep Thorburn with those guys. Let’s allow their trade value to diminish into nothingness. It’s not like the Jets are going to want to get value out of them at the trade deadline or anything, right?
- Mark Scheifele is a rookie. He’s a good scorer, still trying to learn and adapt a solid defensive game. He’s been on a hot streak for the last little while. Let’s put him up against the Canucks top line as much as we can. That just sounds lovely for the kid’s confidence, right? Luckily, it turned out for the best as both Evander Kane and Michael Frolik picked up their games and played very well. This line might actually be worth something.
- Trouba is so damn good he managed to be one of the most productive Jets offensively, while still having to cover for the risky Mark Stuart (Wait until you see the Pavelec stuff below). I like this kid.
Pavelec Performance
Pavelec was pretty decent on the night. By “pretty decent” I mean he only let in two goals, but it could have been much worse when you consider the rebounds he made available throughout the night, and I wasn’t a huge fan of at least one of the goals he let in. He was out performed by Eddie Lack on the night, and once again I found myself wishing the Jets could have a goaltender of the same caliber as an opponent’s backup.
Goal | Situation | Why It Went In | Where It Went |
1 | Jets Penalty Kill | Bad Break (Defection) | Blocker |
2 | Average Play (Controlled ZE) | Beat Clean | Blocker |
Quick Explanations
Why does Mark Stuart consistently feel the need to stand directly in front of Ondrej Pavelec? Once again, instead of dealing the guy standing right beside him, he plants himself directly in front of his goaltender (likely in an attempt to bolster his shot blocking numbers) and makes it impossible for Pavelec to see the redirect in time to do anything about it. Let’s not forget though, Mark Stuart is a penalty killing magician.
Mistakes on two people here. First, Mark Stuart (Shocking, right?) decides that taking Evander Kane’s guy (at the point) is more important than the guy making a rush towards the net. That puts him behind, and (as Kevin explained in his post-game review) pulls everyone else out of position. Ultimately, it leaves Chris Tanev open in the slot with about three Jets in the lane trying to block a shot. Let’s not forget one thing though. Pavelec was down and out EARLY on this goal. He was on his knees before the puck was even in front of the net, giving Tanev the opportunity to go high and put the Canucks ahead for good.
Things to Watch For
The Jets head right back on the ice tonight against the Edmonton Oilers, where they will face a team that is absolutely fuming. The Oilers aren’t good. The Jets aren’t that great either, but this is a winnable game despite the fact that it is a back to back. Here are a few things to watch for:
- Who will start in net? Montoya should, but I’ve seen weirder things happen under the direction of Claude Noel.
- Where will O’Dell play? Near the end of the game against Vancouver, we saw Eric O’Dell become officially “freed” from his cage on the fourth line as he played with Jokinen and company. This is simply a better decision than Chris Thorburn being on that line. No questions asked. Hopefully he will be there to start the game tonight.
- Can this power play keep up? My goodness I hope so. It’s ever so much better.
Final Thought
I was finally able to watch the Florida game Sunday afternoon before the Canuck game came on, and I heard something that really irritated me. Sara Orlesky asked Andrew Ladd what he thought caused the turnaround for the Jets power play of late. His response? They started practicing it more. My question? WHY WAS THIS NOT HAPPENING BEFORE?!?!?! This power play has been a problem for a long time. Usually, when things are a problem, you practice them. When it is a direct cause for why you are losing games? It better become the number one thing you spend your time working on. For it to take THIS LONG for Claude Noel to decide that the power play should be the focus of practice is absolutely unacceptable. This guy needs to go. Right now.
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