Atlanta Thrashers Goalie Allows 180-foot Shot to Score

Posted on 23 October 2009 by Tom Ferda.

ATLANTA – Expect Atlanta Thrashers goaltender Ondrej Pavelec to make sports blooper reels around the country and also be a pavelec lock to make it on the ESPN Sportscenter worst play of the day segment after letting in one of the longest goals in NHL history.

With the score tied 2-2 during last night’s game against the Washington Capitals, Caps’ goalie Semyon Varlamov pushed the puck to defenseman Jeff Schultz.

Schultz, 180 feet away from Pavelec, innocently snapped the puck down the ice to allow a line change for his team.

Like a rock on a pond, the puck skipped past the red and both blue lines toward the lackadaisical Pavelec. Pavelec made a move . . . well sort of . . . towards the puck.

A blink later, the red light illuminated and the shocked crowd watched the Capitals celebrate what many are now calling the worst goal allowed in Thrashers history.

Nothing like gift-wrapping momentum and handing it to the opposing team. That freebie gave the Caps a 3-2 edge but it didn’t end there for Pavelec. The 22-year-old remained flustered, allowing two more quick goals; that’s three goals in 1:28; you can hold your breath that long.

At that point Pavelec had surrendered five goals on just 14 shots and Thrashers Coach John Anderson had seen enough and to the delight of the fans in Blueland, yanked the goaltender calling the move a “mercy pull”.

Thrashers goalie Johan Hedberg shut out Alex Ovechkin and the Caps the rest of the way but the Thrashers could never catch up and lost the game 5-4 on their home ice.

Bill Tiller Iceman’s Thrashers Blog AJC