The excitement that goes along with the Winnipeg Jets’ stunning Game 7 victory over the St. Louis Blues has continued to build up for the White Out fans as they await the beginning of the National Hockey League’s second playoff round. Well, that time has finally come as the True North franchise will kick off their highly anticipated series against the division rival Dallas Stars on Wednesday night.
The last match up of Round 2 to start, Winnipeg will be hopeful that the home-ice advantage their Presidents’ Trophy win gives them will be a key factor in the series. The Jets have been great at the Canada Life Centre in the regular season (30-7-4) and in the playoffs (4-0-0), as well as winning both contests versus the Stars this year in Manitoba. For the rest of the NHL, Canadian franchises are off to a hot start in Round 2 with the Oilers & Maple Leafs a perfect 2-0 record after Game 1 victories. Home teams not so much though, as they fell to 1-2 with the two road wins by Carolina & Edmonton on Tuesday….yet in matches hosted on Canadian soil, the home club walked away victorious as Toronto outlasted Florida in the opener.
Winnipeg and Dallas are both coming in off the emotional high’s brewing from the late game heroics involved in their comeback Game 7 wins, but will be looking to tame those feelings so the players can get back to the work at hand…advancing to the Western Conference Finals. In round 1, the Jets were 4-0 at home/0-3 on the road while the Stars went 3-1 at home/1-2 on the road. Both squads had their fare share of blow out losses (WPG: 7-2, 5-1, 5-2 & DAL: 5-1, 4-0, 7-4), yet for the most part their wins were in tightly contested 1 or 2 goal games.
Injuries have limited both Winnipeg & Dallas so far in the playoffs, with the Stars missing 14 important man-games due to injuries to Jason Robertson (7) & Miro Heiskanen (7) and the Jets losing 13 vital man-games with bumps & bruises to players like Gabriel Vilardi (4), Nikolaj Ehlers (5), Mark Scheifele (2), Dylan DeMelo (1), & Josh Morrissey (1). That is a lot of ice-time missed by top six forwards & top pairing defensemen to overcome, yet the Jets & Stars managed to come out on top in Round 1.
Yesterday’s news out of Dallas indicated that sniper Robertson is very close to a return from his injury and could potentially crack the lineup when the puck drops at the CLC at 8:30 pm Central. It also seems that the Stars’ top defenseman will return at some point in the series, but it doesn’t sound like that will occur right away. In Manitoba, the practice saw both Scheifele & Morrissey in non-contact jerseys, but they appeared to be moving well on the ice. The biggest possible distinction is that the top pivot actually participated in line rushes, making it seem that he is the most likely of the “game time decisions” to be an option on Wednesday for head coach Scott Arniel.
Here are PuckPedia’s early predictions for the lineups, but check back for updates after the Winnipeg Jets & Dallas Stars’ morning skates:
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I know that we already looked at the graphic below in the Series Preview article, but until there is further data to add this is all we have to work with to compare how the two franchises have performed in the post-season. If you would like to see what I found interesting in the numbers below, follow the link:
As it stands, we are 2 or 3 hours away from receiving an update from the Winnipeg Jets’ pre-game skate and that should give us an idea of how the True Northers will line up their players tonight. Check back in the Comment section for updates around noon to see if Mark Scheifele will be making his return to action.
Will Connor Hellebuyck outplay his American counterpart in Jake Oettinger in the game/series? Can Nikolaj Ehlers & Gabriel Vilardi start to put up numbers on the scoresheet as they try to get back to full speed after injuries delayed their start to the playoffs? Will the Winnipeg Jets carry over their ability to stifle the Dallas Stars offense like they did in the regular season (5 goals against in 4 games)?
As always, never be shy about sharing your thoughts, fears, hopes, worries, etc below. I will stay away from any predictions of my own, but certainly welcome any from our knowledgeable Arctic Ice Hockey members. Going to stick with giving the BOJA Boost to the anthem singers since Winnipeg has gone a perfect 2-0 with them donning the top of Game Preview articles.
Go Winnipeg!!!!!!!!!!!!
***12 exclamation marks for the 12 wins the Jets need to lift the Cup.***
