In the midst of their third season since leaving Atlanta, the Winnipeg Jets are once again plagued by familiar issues in 2013-14. They do not have elite offensive talent and their starting goaltender, Ondrej Pavelec, continues to let them down with mediocre performances.
Winnipeg has a solid lineup compared with much of the NHL. It has a top defensive pairing of Dustin Byfuglien and Tobias Enstrom, which cannot be matched by many teams.
However, the Jets lack scoring depth, putting substantial pressure on their top two forward lines to score in bunches.
The onus is on clear-cut No. 1 goalie Pavelec to live up to the big five-year contract he signed prior to the 2012-13 season. The Jets do not have the firepower up front to alleviate the problems caused by subpar play in the net.
In fairness to Pavelec, he has never played with elite talent in front of him. This is now his seventh season playing for the Thrashers/Jets franchise. However, his career 2.96 goals-against average in 244 games is becoming a major concern for fans in Manitoba.
In an age when the average NHL team gives ...
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Article written by Alex Katsoulakos
Why Ondrej Pavelec Is Crucial to Winnipeg Jets’ Success
November 4th, 2013 by Alex Katsoulakos Leave a reply »
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