Ondrej Pavelec stopped 39 shots including 30 of 31 through forty minutes as the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-2 Thursday night at MTS Centre.

Mark Scheifele and Jim Slater both had a goal and an assist for the Jets who kicked off their four-game homestand on a positive note.

"We were just driving," said Slater. "That was a good team. They threw up a lot of shots, and Pavy obviously gave us the confidence there that he was definitely in it tonight. We put some big goals on the board at the right time, that was big. Coming back after they scored getting that next one was huge for us. We were just rolling. It wasn’t a pretty game, but it was an all-out good effort for all of us."

Scheifele has four goals in eight games.

Dustin Byfuglien, Blake Wheeler and Adam Lowry also scored for the Jets.

It was Byfuglien's first game back after missing nine with an upper-body injury.

Drew Stafford had an assist on Wheeler's 24th goal of the season and extended his point streak to eight games.

Andrei Markov and Brendan Gallagher replied for the Canadiens.

Habs goaltender Dustin Tokarski faced 22 shots.

Montreal head coach Michel Therrien said Pavelec, who won his sixth straight game, was huge in net for Winnipeg.

"He was the difference in the game. I thought we played really solid. We were ready to play.  We dictated the game, we dictated the pace, and Pavelec was outstanding. They capitalized on their chances."

The Jets (39-24-12) hold down the second wildcard in the NHL's Western Conference.

Winnipeg is one point back of Minnesota and three ahead of Calgary.

The Wild and Flames meet tonight in St. Paul.

The Jets next game is Sunday against the Chicago Blackhawks.

 



photos by Ray Peters