The last time Ondrej Pavelec took the ice against the Washington Capitals he lasted less than three minutes before he was taken off the ice on a stretcher after collapsing unconscious in front of a stunned crowd at Philips Arena. Friday was quite a different story. With Pavelec between the pipes and health on his side, he stonewalled the NHL’s best team; turning aside all 29 shots he faced for a 5-0 shutout.

It was a game that the Thrashers owned from the start and “owned” is not a common term used by opponents facing Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals.

The five-goal margin of victory was the largest this season for the Thrashers and the first five-goal win since Jan. 12, 2010 in a 6-1 win over Ottawa. It was also the team’s first shutout since April 10, 2010 when they knocked out the Pittsburgh Penguins 1-0; the same game rookie Evander Kane knocked out Matt Cooke with one punch.

The win improved the Thrashers’ record to 8-9-3 (19 points) for the season and contributions came from every line on the ice. Ben Eager opened the scoring with his third goal of the season, putting the Thrashers ahead 1-0 at the 2:42 mark of the opening frame then several other players found the net.

Nik Antropov, Evander Kane, Dustin Byfuglien and Alexander Burmistrov finished off the scoring with 18-year-old Burmistrov’s tally being one for the highlight reel. After skating the puck into the Capitals’ zone, the Russian turned defenseman Jeff Schultz and the Capitals’ rookie goaltender inside out before sweeping the puck in from behind the net. It was Burmistrov’s third goal of the season and fifth point (1g, 4a) over the last five games.

Kane who scored a pair of goals in each of two previous games against the Caps this year, has seven points (5g, 2a) in four games against Washington this season.

The Thrashers are 2-1-1 against the Caps in four games this season with a 2-0 record on their home ice.

Scoring Summary

Period (Time) Goal (Assists)

1 (2:42)    Eager (3) (Antropov)

1 (8:52)    Antropov (5) (Eager, Oduya)

1 (9:07)    Kane (8) (Little)

2 (19:10)   Byfuglien (6) (Kane)

3 (17:17)   Burmistrov (3) (Ladd, Bergfors)

Scoring by Period

ATL: 3 – 1 – 1 — 5

WSH: 0 – 0 – 0 — 0

Shots by Period

ATL:  7 – 14 – 15 — 36

WSH: 12 – 10 –  7 — 29

Special Teams

ATL: PP – 0/2   PK – 3/3

WSH: PP – 0/3   PK – 2/2

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Atlanta Thrashers goalie Ondrej Pavelec returned to the ice today for the first time since losing consciousness and falling to the ice in the team’s opening game against the Washington Capitals on Oct. 8^th.

A few minutes into that game with play on the opposite end of the ice, Pavelec suddenly collapsed slamming the back of his head to the ice.

The raucous crowd suddenly stood silent as the medical staff spent nearly 20 minutes tending to Pavelec before lifting him off onto a stretcher into a nearby ambulance.

The 23-year-old goaltender participated in his first practice since that frightening ordeal and was in good spirits after his 30-minute skate. He shared some of the details surrounding that ordeal and his journey back onto the ice.

“I don’t remember anything after the National Anthem until I woke up in the back of the ambulance. That’s a pretty big window,” Pavelec said. “I couldn’t feel my legs. . . but when I got to the hospital I started to feel my legs.”

With family and loved ones miles away overseas awaiting details after receiving initial calls from the team, Pavelec made sure to personally contact them as soon as he possible could.

“My girlfriend left one day before that happened. The game wasn’t on TV back home so nobody saw it, but [my family] got the phone calls right away,” said Pavelec. “When I woke up I called them right away back home to tell them I felt good. On the T.V. back home they only showed the film and didn’t report any other details concerning the incident so it was scary.”

Pavelec was later asked if he or the doctors have set a timeline to get back onto the ice at 100%.

“I’m medically cleared right now so it will take a while to get back into game shape and I was on the ice for the first time just now so they didn’t say when I was going to be back. I’m just getting some shots and hopefully I’m going to be ready as soon as possible. I need a couple more practices.”

After having a headache for three or four days immediately following the incident, Pavelec said those have subsided and he is symptom free. With this being his third concussion the team is sure to monitor him closely as he makes his way back. During the practice Thrashers’ trainers were monitoring his pulse and other signs and gave him the thumbs up.

Later in the interview Pavelec explained his history of concussions. “[Happened] three times already, this is my fourth one. . . hopefully this is the last one.”  As far as passing out like what happened on Oct. 8^th, Pavelec went on to say, “that was the first time and hopefully the last time”.

With weeks of tests including extensive MRIs all coming back clear, Pavelec is concentrating on getting back with the team with an opportunity to get back between the pipes for a game.

“I’m happy I’m back and that it was nothing serious,” he said smiling. “They said I’m ready to go, I just need some practice to get into game shape.”

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Copyright © 2010 Sports Climax, LLC

The Atlanta Thrashers released the following statement to the media regarding signing free agent goaltender Ondrej Pavelec to a deal:

The Thrashers have re-signed restricted free agent goaltender Ondrej Pavelec to a multiple-year contract, according to General Manager Rick Dudley.  Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Pavelec, 22, appeared in 42 games during his first full NHL season, posting a 14-18-7 record with two shutouts, a 3.29 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage.  The 6-3, 220-pound goaltender made a career-high 50 saves in a 3-1 victory on Oct. 31 at Ottawa and  recorded his first career shutout, with a 38-save performance, on Nov. 13 vs. Los Angeles.  Pavelec was also a member of the Czech Republic team at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The Kladno, Czech Republic, native has earned a 20-28-7 record with two shutouts, a 3.33 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage in 61 career NHL games over three seasons with the Thrashers from 2007 to 2010.  Pavelec posted a 51-36-5 record with five shutouts, a 2.69 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage in 92 career games with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League from 2007 to 2009. 

He also appeared in 24 post-season contests with the Wolves, registering a 16-8 record with two shutouts, a 2.34 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage, while helping Chicago capture the 2008 Calder Cup Championship.

Prior to his professional career, Pavelec earned 55-29-0 record with four shutouts, a 2.52 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage in 90 games with Cape Breton of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 2005 to 2007.  He also spent two seasons with the Kladno organization in the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2005. 

Pavelec has represented his native Czech Republic in International Competition four times, including the Winter Olympics (2010), World Championships (2010), World Junior Championships (2007) and World Under-18 Championships (2005).

Pavelec was originally selected by the Thrashers in the second round, 41^st overall, of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

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