What exactly happened yesterday in the Excel Energy Centre when the Jets stormed back to tie the Wild and force over time? The wild had the game in hand, were in full control until things got physical and rather goofy. Yes, the technical term goofy.
I'll be the first to say I'm not going put blame on Pavelec but did the team understand what they were dealing with in this back to back game? More importantly did Paul Maurice?
The Jets came out flat, at least from the possession stats measuring shot attempts. But by the 5 minute mark of the 2nd period the visitors from 7 hours north took over and controlled the rest of the game, after giving up 3 goals. It would be easy to say 'why did you start Pavelec on back to back games and the second being a matinee' but that's not the issue here. The three goal lead spotted to the Wild was not the goalie's fault it was the team's fault. If we're going to point fingers maybe even Paul Maurice's.
The coach and the players cannot control the opposition's energy. They can anticipate it, adapt to it and plan for it but they cannot affect it. Had Maurice use any kind of logic in his roster deployment is still up for debate but what did he signal to the players when starting Pavelec?
While this group is establishing an identity, and one we learned much about yesterday, there are bound to be lingering remnants of Jets teams past. A flat start, in front of a goalie some players may still feel lacks all the ingredients to win in all situations, might tell you there are some lingering habits. Disappointed from giving up a late goal(s) the night before did starting Pavelec send a message to the team to not 'worry' about this one?
That might be a huge stretch but it's not so far as to ask if the Jets snorted unicorn horn dust at the intermission to turn the game around.
This team is still developing an identity and yesterday they took a big step towards one. However, could the flat start have been avoided?
That's where the focus should be, not the come back nor the starting goalie. That being said would starting Hutch have created a different 'vibe' within the group?
These are questions that can't be answered definitively but where all Jets fans should agree, once the Jets go through the turbulence they really started flying. Evander Kane may be not be #thenatural in terms of scoring goals but he may becoming the natural spiritual leader of this team. What player comes out like him every game? As the phrase goes around these parts, Kane's 'give an f' meter goes to 11, maybe further. The fact that he scored on such a bizarre chance says volumes of nothing other than he cared to try. Add in the fact that he still wants to be physical and stand up to any comers affirms his presence on the team as more than a highly paid winger.
The game was lost in OT but not without some possible long term consequences as Mark Scheifele left the game with an apparent injured knee, the same one that was hurt when his season ended last year. AS of this writing the status of his injury is unknown but he appeared to be in better shape than last spring as he could move, albeit with discomfort, back to the bench under his own power.
What happens now will be interesting. Do the Jets call anyone up from the farm if Scheifele is out longer than a couple of weeks? The possibility I see as most intriguing is moving Perreault up between Wheeler and Kane while Lowry holds down the middle between Byfuglien and Halischuk/Galiardi.
The challenge here is depth and how fast it gets tested. Organizations should want to provide their prospects with chances to play on the big club and this is one of those opportunities, or it could be.
As it stands now, assuming Perreault moves up, the bottom six look like this:
Halischuk, Lowry, Buff Galiardi, Slater, Peluso/Thorburn
Call me skeptical but that's not a very reassuring bottom six when the 4th line already sees less ice time than penalties minutes taken. Does keeping Lowry on the wing with Buff have more upside than moving him to centre? Consider this alternate version:
Lowry, O'Dell/Albert, Buff Halischuk, Slater, Galiardi
Thorburn and Peluso sitting safely away from the ice sipping tea.
It's not that the last two can't play it's that not much happens when they do and if Kane and Wheeler are going to stand up for themselves why bother having Peluso or Thorburn on the ice when better skilled guys can play?
Once we know the status of Scheifele's injury options of how best to weather his loss can begin but once again the depth of the roster and organization comes under scrutiny if his injury is for any significant length of time. This situation appears better than last season but if all the evidence in the world says Pavelec should not start back-to-back games especially one that is a matinee, then assume Thorburn goes to the second line as a temporary measure. Some things just seem harder to change with the Jets than others.