Ondrej Pavelec, Jets hold off Stars

DALLAS-- Ondrej Pavelec made 39 saves for the Winnipeg Jets in a 4-3 win against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Thursday.
Pavelec made 14 saves in the third period to help Winnipeg (25-25-4) win a third straight game for the first time this season.
"Some high-end ones, too, on high-end shooters," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "The ones he could see and then a few that he didn't see until late. He was just tracking the puck so well. Best player on the ice."

WATCH: All Jets vs. Stars highlights
Bryan Little gave Winnipeg a 1-0 lead at 6:50 of the first period on a wrist shot over Kari Lehtonen's left shoulder.
Dallas (21-21-10) tied it 1-1 when John Klingberg scored on the power play at 11:55. Klingberg picked up an initial shot by Jamie Benn and beat Pavelec on the stick side.
Benn gave Dallas a 2-1 lead at 13:59. Pavelec couldn't hold Patrik Nemeth's initial shot and Benn scored on the rebound.
Mark Scheifele tied it 2-2 with 53 seconds remaining in the first, and gave Winnipeg a 3-2 lead during a 5-on-3 power play at 5:55 of the second.

Nikolaj Ehlers gave the Jets a 4-2 lead at 12:51 of the second, and Patrick Eaves cut the lead to 4-3 when he scored on a rebound at 17:58.
Benn hit the post at 15:03 of the third period on a wrist shot.
"At the end of the night, we had our chances. We had plenty of good chances to make a difference. It seems like a little bit of a common theme," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "But the work ethic that went into the game, I like the work that went into it."

Goal of the game

Winnipeg took advantage of a turnover by Lehtonen and Ehlers scored into a vacated net.

Save of the game

Pavelec stopped Tyler Seguin on a one-timer in the second period when Winnipeg led 3-2.

Highlight of the game

Pavelec stopped Benn on a shorthanded breakaway 22 seconds before Scheifele gave the Jets the lead.
"It happened so quick. It was probably first breakaway of my career 5-on-3," Pavelec said. "So I didn't expect that, but I was just waiting for his move. I think we were both patient and waiting for what the other guy was [going to] do. It's a huge thing in this game to be patient. I tried to wait, wait and make the save."

Unsung performance of the game

The Jets blocked four shots in the final 45 seconds, including one by Dustin Byfuglien with four seconds remaining.
"Our guys had a lot of blocks in there," Pavelec said. "It was good, you need that block. It's a really tight game, you need the luck to win the game."

They said it

"I think if you look at the past 7-10 games, since really the [Cody] Eakin line was put together, his game's been good. He's been skating well, he was coming off the wall and beating guys back to the net. Down low he was winning battles and made a great move to get the shot that hit the crossbar and did a lot of good things, played really well." -- Stars coach Lindy Ruff on Jamie Benn
"Obviously, he's played in this league a long time. He's confident back there, a little bit of a calming presence back there, not a lot fazes him. We've been playing well in front of him. We've just got to continue to do that." -- Jets forward Mark Scheifele on Ondrej Pavelec

Need to know

Scheifele scored his 25th goal; he had 29 last season. … Jets forward Mathieu Perreault played 8:11 after missing three games with a hand injury. … Stars forward Jason Spezza left the game after getting hit by Adam Lowry in the third period and is going to miss some time, Ruff said.

What's next

Jets: At the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday (3 p.m. ET; ALT, TSN3, NHL.TV)
Stars: Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; NHLN, FS-SW, WGN, NHL.TV)