The Winnipeg Jets are in early trouble in their second-round series against the Dallas Stars as the Stars pulled away with a 3-2 win Wednesday night in game one. Mikko Rantanen had a hat-trick, and Jake Oettinger made 29 saves to carry the Stars.
This now puts Winnipeg's back against the wall as they need a game two win to even the series before heading to Dallas. Winnipeg was shorthanded during the Blues series, missing both Mark Scheifele and Josh Morrissey. With Scheifele’s return, which resulted in a big game two goal, they need Morrissey back more than ever.
This won’t be the same series that Winnipeg had against the Blues; the Stars are a much better team and may be one of the best-coached teams in the NHL. Winnipeg will need to hone in on these aspects of its game to beat the Stars.
The Jets need to play like they are the best defensive team in the league
Although Morrissey is still hurt, it is no excuse for how the Jets have played defensively so far in the playoffs. For a team that had the best goals against average in the league during the regular season, with a 2.32, the Jets have seemed lost defensively in the playoffs.
They have surrendered 27 goals in eight games, which gives them a 3.37 GAA for the playoffs, including giving up almost six goals per game on the road. With the Jets dropping game one of the series to Dallas, this is going to force Winnipeg to win on the road in Dallas.
Jets coach Scott Arniel shared his assessment of how his team performed on the ice,
“There was a lot of sloppiness to that game,” Arniel said. “That did not feel like a playoff game in Game 1 and Round 2. That felt like Game 45 in the middle of December. We know the high that we were on coming off that St. Louis game. But man, this is the playoffs.”
And Arniel is right, the Jets have to play with a different mentality come the playoffs if they want to compete with these contenders out west. They need to play like the best team in hockey, like they have all year long.
Take advantage of Dallas’s injuries and get more chances on Oettinger
Miro Heiskanen missed game one for the Stars and is one of their best defenders, if not their best defender. The Jets need to take advantage of this and get as many opportunities as possible on Oettinger while Heiskanen is out.
At the end of game one, the Jets were putting bodies in front of the net, which resulted in scrambles, and the Jets almost tying the game. This is the grind-it-out, physical hockey the Jets need to play to throw Oettinger off his game.
You are currently seeing it in the Leafs vs Panthers series, as Toronto has made Sergei Bobrovsky’s time in net miserable. Toronto is constantly putting bodies in front and looking for opportunities off rebounds. Making it that much harder for Bobrovsky to position himself at all times.
If the Jets can do the same with Oettinger, they can easily find a way to win this series. The Jets have the best goaltender in the league, the best defense in the league, and a top-3 offense as well. Expect Winnipeg to come out firing in game 2 to even this series at 1-1 before going to Dallas.