WINNIPEG -- Their goaltending was near the bottom of the league last season, but coach Paul Maurice says the Winnipeg Jets have to play better hockey in front of Ondrej Pavelec before they can assess their starter. "Play a strong enough game in front of him, give him a chance to win every night, and then well make an assessment of our goaltending and where its at," Maurice said as training camp opened Thursday with player physicals. "I have confidence in this man and his abilities to do it." General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff and now Maurice havent wavered in their support of the Czech import, and his teammates agree they havent always given him the help he needs. Pavelec, 27, joined the Atlanta Thrashers in 2007-08 and became their starter in 2009-10. He was the teams most valuable player in 2011-12, the year the Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg and became the Jets, but even then his numbers werent great. They turned abysmal last season. Pavelec let in the most goals of any netminder in the league at 163 and his .901 save percentage was tied with Martin Brodeur at the bottom of the 30 players with 39 games or more. The Jets finished 22nd last season, with a record of 37-35-10. Pavelecs record was 22-26-7. A trimmer and presumably fitter Pavelec went through his physical with his teammates Thursday. No players were made available to reporters. Maurice was the only voice explaining what the team will try to do to get better and he wasnt making any rash promises about playoff hockey come next spring. "Youre going to ask me every day, Hey, are you guys going to make the playoffs this year? I know thats coming and I dont have an answer for you. Were going to have an answer for you somewhere in the early part of April . . ." "I tell you what were going to do. Were going to work our butts off in training camp to get better." That includes Pavelec, he said. "We need Ondrej to be every bit better as every other player . . . The talent is there and weve seen it. We need to put a structure in front of him that he understands. . . He needs to do the work." His backup this season, at least so far, looks like rookie Michael Hutchinson, who came out of the Jets AHL farm team late last season and impressed enough to stick around and displace Al Montoya. Maurice said the most important thing the Jets can do this season is improve defensively. "No Stanley Cup champion ranks in the top-10 of everything but the one area thats consistent is theyre good defensively. And were talking about from a goals against strictly point of view. We have to be a better defensive team." Its something he preached last season and something his predecessor Claude Noel also talked about until he was sacked in January after a five-game losing streak. Maurice promises more than just talk. He says things like ensuring people are where theyre supposed to be on the ice are going to dominate training camp, not scrimmages. "Were just going to do it over and over and over again until we get it right. Last year from day one of my taking over the job to the end of the regular season I believe there were two days when we didnt work on our defensive zone coverage." He also promised things in the three systems theyll be learning that are new to all the players. The Jets hit the practice ice Friday and play their first exhibition game Monday, when the Minnesota Wild visit the MTS Centre in Winnipeg. The team may be looking for better results but makeup-wise it doesnt look a lot different from last season. About the biggest change is the replacement of centre Olli Jokinen with Mathieu Perreault. It looks like a slight upgrade since both had 18 goals and 43 points last season, but Perreault did it in 69 games with the Ducks and is only 26. Jokinen took 82 games and is 35. "Youve got a player thats quite quick . . real good faceoff man," offered Maurice, who said wherever Perreault lands, they want to use his offensive skills. It seems likely hell centre Winnipegs third line, but with whom is anyones guess at this point. "They have to be good defensively . . but we want them to generate some things. . . We are expecting him to work into the power-play units . . . increase our skill level a little bit in terms of how we can move the puck." The big hope for new talent, however, seems to be from within, which shines a spotlight on Jets prospects like the teams No. 1 draft pick this year, 18-year-old Nikolaj Ehlers, or Adam Lowry, a six-foot-five centre who found his footing last season in his rookie year in the AHL. Ultra Boost Canada Restock . As the only competitor to try two quads, much less complete them, Kovtun ended the day nearly nine points ahead of Japans Tatsuki Machida, who opened with a clean quad but then stepped out of the triple toe loop that was the second jump in his combination. NMD Canada Sale . And once again, Team Homan emerged as the victor with the reigning national champions defeating Team Sweeting at the Pintys All-Star Curling Skins Game Friday night in the tournaments opening draw at The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre in beautiful Banff National Park. http://www.nmdshoescanada.com/ultra-boos...canada.html.com) - Eric Fehrs goal 42 seconds into overtime lifted the Washington Capitals to a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over Columbus, halting the Blue Jackets seven-game win streak. NMD XR1 Triple Black Canada . TSNs coverage of the Third Round gets underway Sunday with Game 1: Los Angeles at Chicago at 3pm et/Noon pt. TSNs broadcast schedule for the Third Round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs is as follows: Chicago Blackhawks vs. Los Angeles Kings• Game 1: Los Angeles at Chicago – Sunday, May 18 at 3pm et/Noon pt• Game 2: Los Angeles at Chicago – Wednesday, May 21 at 8pm et/5pm pt• Game 4: Chicago at Los Angeles – Monday, May 26 at 9pm et/6pm pt Featured in the broadcast booth for TSN are play-by-play announcer Chris Cuthbert and game analyst Ray Ferraro, with Farhan Lalji contributing reports from rinkside. y-3 Shoes Canada . But qualifying for her first Scotties Tournament of Hearts after years of falling short in tough Manitoba provincial championships is as good as consolation prizes get for the 29-year-old from Winnipegs Fort Rouge Curling Club.(SportsNetwork.com) - Two of the NBAs storied franchises have fallen on hard times, but theyll meet Sunday afternoon when the Los Angeles Lakers visit Madison Square Garden to face the New York Knicks. The Lakers are last in the Pacific Division, own the second-worst mark in the Western Conference and fourth-worst in the whole league. New York is last in the Atlantic Division, last in the Eastern Conference and have the second-worst record in the NBA. The Lakers begin a four-game eastern road trip with stops in Milwaukee, Orlando and Cleveland on the horizon. They closed a three-game homestand with a thrilling victory on Thursday. Without Kobe Bryant, who is gone for the season with a torn rotator cuff, the Lakers spoiled Pau Gasols return to Los Angeles thanks to a 123-118 double- overtime win over the Chicago Bulls. Jordan Hill had 26 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Lakers. LA squandered a 15-point second half advantage and a nine-point cushion late in regulation. Chicago didnt take it first lead until the early moments of the first overtime when Derrick Rose knocked down a 3-pointer at the 4:42 mark. Hill, though, sent the game into another extra session with a late jumper from the left wing in overtime and LA pulled away in the second OT. Wayne Ellington posted 23 points and five rebounds for the Lakers, who snapped a nine-game losing streak. Jordan Clarksoon (18), Carlos Boozer (16), Jeremy Lin (11) and Ed Davis (10) rounded out the double-figure scorers.dddddddddddd Our guys battled. Played extremely hard all night, Lakers coach Byron Scott said. Was happy with the teams poise and ability to bounce back in the OTs. The Knicks have won four of their last six, but last time out, they fell on the road to the Indiana Pacers, 103-82, Thursday. Not even a surprise start by Carmelo Anthony could keep the Knicks close. The All-Star forward was questionable on the second game of a back-to-back and finished with 18 points, but New Yorks defense did not duplicate its efforts over the past two weeks. We ran out of gas, to be honest, Anthony admitted. It was one of those nights where we took a step backwards. During a five-game stretch that saw them go 4-1, the Knicks allowed just 91.4 points per game -- more than 10 points fewer than their season average. The Knicks led by 11 early on, but they reverted back to their sieve-like ways against the Pacers, who scored 67 points during the second and third quarters on 63 percent shooting. Lou Amundson, who was signed for the remainder of the season, had 17 points and Tim Hardaway, Jr. finished with 11. The Lakers are 11-3 in their last 14 against the Knicks, but all three of New Yorks wins during that span came in the last three meetings at Madison Square Garden. ' ' '