It will be Hot Hand Ondrej Pavelec in nets Saturday night in Montreal when the Blueshirts attempt to string back-to-back victories together for the first time this season in the wake of their 5-2 triumph over the Coyotes on Thursday.
“Just feel it’s the right thing for the team,” coach Alain Vigneault said following practice Friday. “He stopped the puck. Goaltenders have to stop the puck. He did a good job.”
Pavelec, 1-1/2.56/.896 in two starts (out of three games played), was steady if not spectacular in making 27 saves against Arizona. That’s just the type of performance the wobbly 3-6-2 Rangers will be looking for in their match against the equally desperate 2-7-1 Canadiens.
“They throw a lot of pucks at the net. They drive to the net,” Pavelec said. “There’s always a lot of bodies in front of you, so it’s going to be a challenge to find the puck and make those saves.”
Pavelec — signed to a one-year, $1.3 million free agent deal after Antti Raanta, the incumbent the previous two seasons, was dealt to Arizona with Derek Stepan — is trying to reestablish his NHL bona fides following a 2016-17 that went wrong for him in Winnipeg.
“Obviously, last year was not what I was looking for,” said the 31-year-old who played only eight games with the Jets and spent a large portion of the season with AHL Manitoba. “But now I have the opportunity to get back to where I want to be.
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“Having a new goalie coach with Benoit [Allaire] has given me a new beginning. He’s done a lot of work with me. Basically, he has been trying to build on my strengths and work on details and little pieces without changing my style,” he said. “It’s about doing it over and over and over again in practice so that it feels natural without having to think about what to do during games in different situations.
“It’s about sticking with it and finding the best way for me to be confident.”
Pavelec’s assimilation might have been easier had the Rangers broken well out of the gate. But the netminder, a career 153-160-47/2.87/.907, is not concerned with what might have been.
“Of course we were looking to get off to a great start, but sometimes it doesn’t go the way you want,” said Pavelec, who spends much of his summer in Montreal. “It’s never going to be perfect, but I’m not looking at our record.
“It’s my job to be ready when they need me. I’m going to do my best to help turn this around.”
Rangers allowed one goal while shorthanded three times against Arizona and entered Friday 25th overall on the penalty kill at 9/39 for 76.9 percentage. The PK has been a problem area for three seasons, with the Blueshirts 19th last year (79.8) and 26th (78.2) the year before that.
“The difference to me between a successful kill and an unsuccessful one goes back to confidence,” said Michael Grabner, on for two power play goals against in 24:30 of shorthanded time. “When you kill a couple, you play more on instinct as individuals and as a group, but if you’re on for a couple then you second-guess your decisions and you’re a half-step behind.”
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Ryan McDonagh has been on for just one PPGA in 31:49 while his PK partner Marc Staal has been on for two against in 31:52. Brendan Smith has been on for six against in 20:33 while Brady Skjei has been on for four in 16:45. Nick Holden has been on for two against in 13:04 and Kevin Shattenkirk one in 1:19.
Up front, Kevin Hayes has been on for two against in 22:03; Rick Nash, five in 15:12; Mika Zibanejad, none in 8:28; Mats Zuccarello, three in 11:01; Jimmy Vesey, one in 10:24; and Jesper Fast, two in 10:21.
The Staal (3:16)-Shattenkirk (2:44) pair got limited time in the third period Thursday, with Vigneault leaning on his Skjei (9:05)-Holden (8:32) and McDonagh (7:50)-Smith (6:44) tandems.
The Blueshirts return home Tuesday against Vegas before the first multi-game trip of the year takes them to Florida for a pair against the Lightning and Panthers to open November.