The collision between Winnipeg Jets goaltender Ondrej Pavelec and Arizona Coyotes forward Shane Doan on Saturday night that left Pavelec shaken up has resulted in a "significant" knee sprain that will keep the Jets netminder sidelined at least until January and, quite possibly, longer.
Check out video of the incident.
Pavelec is obviously in quite a bit of pain after Doan bowls him through the back of the net and to the endboards. It was reported on Sunday that the Jets had already recalled "prized" prospect Connor Hellebuyck from their AHL affiliate in Manitoba. The 22-year-old Hellebuyck was an All-Star in the AHL for his efforts last season. He also put on a show for Team USA at the 2015 Worlds, winning seven of eight games and finishing the tournament with a 1.39 goals against average and a .948 save percentage.
Thus far in 2015-16, Hellebuyck has a 2.41 goals against average and .927 save percentage.
Pavelec, 28, is now expected to miss the next 16 games and possibly longer after the team announced on Monday that the Czech netminder had suffered a "significant" knee sprain that will keep him off the ice for the entire month of December and potentially into February.
While Michael Hutchinson is likely to see the majority of starts in Pavelec's absence, it won't be surprising if the Jets and GM Kevin Cheveldayoff and head coach Paul Maurice get some action for Hellebuyck.
The Jets play four times in the span of this week, including back-to-back road games against the Wild and Avs. Unless Hutchinson plays out of his mind, expect to see Hellebuyck get at least one start.
