Hutch is Too Much- evening OT loss ot Bruins
It was the Jets game to lose after the visiting team went up 1-0 on a uncharacteristic power play goal. Then they hung on. We’ve see this before with the Jets but last night it did not prevent them from having their own chances in a thrilling 2-1 OT win for the Bruins.
Early in the third Milan Lucic scored on break where Mark Scheifele could not get back and cover and Michael Hutchinson could not commit early enough to the poke check to stop the tip-in. That was really his only blemish.
The game lacked some key ingredients as both Chara and Krejci were out for the Bruins and for the Jets Toby Enstrom was still recovering. The importance of these three players to their respective teams cannot be emphasized enough. It did not hurt the quality of the game though.
Things did get worse for the Jets when they lost stalwart forward Bryan Little in the third as he took a shot off the inside of his leg. Little was helped off the ice and went straight to the locker room, not to return. It was a physical, hard fought game, and head coach Paul Maurice said in his post game comments, “That I think everyone had an ice pack as they walked to the bus…. The story though has to be that play of Michael Hutchinson, this time at home against the team that originally drafted him and subsequently released him. It was his second game against the Bruins as a NHL professional, the first coming late last season, and this one just as spectacular as the last.
By this writer’s count he must have made at least 5 game changing saves when it appeared unlikely any could be made. Hutch was too much.
He fought through battles in front of him and he tracked the puck through it all. Hutch was too much.
He covered the crease with lateral precision and efficiency while following the opposition players. Hutch was too much
When it finally ended in OT there was a scrambled play coming back from the Bruins end. Perreaut had gone awkwardly into the boards slowing himself if not injuring. It took too long for the Jets to add another player in Scheifele to get back and pick up Dougie Hamilton who had time and chaos in front before he wired one past Hutchinson.
Was it a shot that could have been saved? Yes but it may simply have been that the goalie had run out of answers and luck. Make no mistake for rookie tender he had a lot of luck last night but the argument could be made that he was good enough to be lucky and that’s really all that matters- because he was good enough.
The Jets were given a four minute PP with just over three minutes remaining when Clitsom was high-sticked by Marchand. While having scored their lone goal on the PP the Jets could not convert in regulation and OT when there was even more ice. Hutch even bailed them out on shorthanded late in the game after a poor turnover. Hutch was too much.
The problem now is that Hutch is too much to ignore anymore. He plays the way elite goalies play, making the impossible saves and doing it over and over again. So is it now a goalie controversy in Winnipeg? It could be if Paul Maurice does not handle the situation well, but before people run to defend Pavelec’s right to the #1 throne ask a few questions.
What has Pavelec done to be given countless chances to stay as number one? If you answer loyalty and time served then are you also happy with the same loyalty applied to Mark Stuart or Chris Thorburn and their deals? That loyalty is letting Thorburn see 4 minutes of ice a game in tight games like last night.
There’s not enough sample or evidence to suggest Hutchinson can handle a #1 goalie’s load? Once again you can look back at Pavelec and ask what he has done in his 4 seasons to earn that trust. How so?
In the first 4 seasons of Jets 2.0 in the first 10 GPI (games played/appeared in) Pavelec has never outplayed his back up in terms of save %. This year he has been absolutely dominated by Hutch’s numbers and Pavelec has been above his normal averages too. The same trend is happening and what is different this year is no other back up will get to that 10 GPI faster than Hutch in the Jets short history. That in itself is telling and perhaps a signal of what may change in the future. When that future arrives is uncertain but if you are betting is it sooner or later?
Hutch is too much to ignore.