Infos » Knox now has three

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. Swell Vattenflaska Sverige . She still remembers the massive roar of the home crowd when the Canadians walked out on the pitch before 47,784 fans at Commonwealth Stadium in 2002. Lang expects a similar reception for the Canadian team as the host nation at this years tournament, which begins Tuesday. Swell Sverige .35 million, avoiding arbitration. Davis led the majors last season with 53 home runs and 138 RBIs, both career highs. He earned $3. http://www.swellbottlesverige.com/swell-vattenflaska.html. -- Jack Del Rio only wanted to talk about the Cowboys, not the Trojans. Swell Flaska . After losing a shutout bid in the dying seconds of Sundays win over the Colorado Avalanche, Luongo would not be denied against the punchless Oilers and is now just one back of Patrick Roy for 14th on the all-time list. Swell återförsäljare . The Sioux Falls Canaries scored two in the seventh and three more in the eighth to come back from a 3-0 deficit and defeat the Winnipeg Goldeyes 5-3 in front of 6,769 at Shaw Park on Sunday afternoon.Branden Grace is hoping a successful week at the RBC Heritage can once again be the performance which kickstarts his season. The South African overcame a three-shot deficit during his final round at Harbour Town to post a five-under 66 and finish two shots clear of Luke Donald and Russell Knox.Victory is Graces first ever on the PGA Tour and his second of 2016, following his triumph on the European Tour at the Qatar Masters, with the 27-year-old now hoping to replicate the run he managed after last years appearance in this tournament. Grace mixed seven birdies with two bogeys during the final round Ending tied-seventh in South Carolina last year sparked a run of form which saw Grace finish inside the top-20 a further 12 times worldwide during 2015, including top-four finishes at the US Open and PGA Championship, giving him plenty of encouragement for the months ahead.Its awesome and is something I have dreamt of, Grace told Sky Sports. Ive been out here over the past couple of years and have given myself some chances, so this is great. Graces Heritage glory Final round report from the RBC Heritage I played some flawless golf, even with two bogeys, but it was a tough day out there and you just had to grind it out.This is pretty much where it (form) started last year for me, as I had my first top-10 here on the PGA Tour last year and then it just kicked off. Graces win followed a missed cut at last weeks Masters I was in a really good frame of mind coming in to this event and Im now excited to see how the year turns out.ddddddddddddDonald, who has now made six top-three finishes since 2009 in this event, was joined in a tie-for-second by Knox after the Scot posted a final-round 67.Knox broke in to the worlds top 50 with victory at last years WGC-HSBC Champions and was also a runner-up at the OHL Classic, with the 30-year-old delighted with his form ahead of a potentially busy year.Today I was thrilled, I played great all day and hit some nice putts at the end there, Knox told Sky Sports. I was happy with the way I conducted myself and the shots over the last few holes. Russell Knox now has three top-two finishes on the PGA Tour this season I played beautifully on the first day, but I just made a mess of the first couple of holes which turned a good round in to a terrible feeling.Of course winning again and the Ryder Cup are goals of mine now, but Im just trying to enjoying it. Im so fortunate to be playing in these great tournaments, so Ive just go to soak it all in and go for it.The next event on the PGA Tour is the Valero Texas Open , which youll be able to watch live throughout the week on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf Also See: Grace claims Heritage title RBC Heritage highlights Harbour Town leaderboard Golf live on Sky Sports 4 ' ' '