Round 2 didn’t start the way that the White Out crowd at the Canada Life Centre hoped when the visiting Dallas Stars squeaked out a 3-2 victory in the opener. The Winnipeg Jets started off slowly and could not dig out of the hole they found themselves in despite a valiant push in the 3rd period.
As of Friday, that loss in Manitoba is the only time a Canadian franchise has dropped a second round playoff game, as both the Toronto Maple Leafs & Edmonton Oilers have jumped out to a 2-0 lead in their series. So in order to avoid the fate of the Vegas Golden Knights who have dropped two straight home contests, the club from the Peg needs to find a way to win Game 2 before the series swaps over to Texas. The people over at MoneyPuck indicate that Winnipeg’s chances to move on to the next round have decreased to 35.2%, yet a win in front of their hometown crowd on Friday would bring the series back to a coin flip (i.e. 50/50 chance).
Yesterday’s Jets’ practice saw both injured defensemen, Josh Morrissey & Logan Stanley, shedding their non-contact jerseys for regular ones. According to head coach Scott Arniel both skaters “looked good” yesterday, but remain as game time decisions. Obviously #44’s return would be pivotal, as it would allow Winnipeg to field their best lineup for the first time of the post-season and also ease the workload of shutdown defenseman Dylan Samberg.
PuckPedia’s lines below are based on the information available before the Jets & Stars hit the ice at noon for their pre-game skates….so check back later to see if Morrissey or Dallas’ Miro Heiskanen will be on the ice at the Canada Life Centre.
*****
It will be interesting to see if the Winnipeg Jets make any alterations to their forward units for Game 2, because only the Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, & Gabriel Vilardi trio had success at creating offense against the Dallas Stars’ deep roster. The opponents caused issues by double shifting some of their better snipers and that paid huge dividends in the opener when Mikko Rantanen netted a natural hat trick.
In net, the Stars’ Jake Oettinger won round 1 of the goalie battle, although the True Northers didn’t test him with as many high danger scoring chances as Connor Hellebuyck had to face. Bucky did look pretty solid in between the pipes in the loss, so hopefully he is working towards finding his “A” game. The Jets will probably need him to steal at least one contest if they want to work their way back into the series without home ice advantage any more.
Time for the numbers….here is how Winnipeg & Dallas compare based on the 2024-25 post-season statistics:
*****
Unfortunately the data is saying that the True Northers have many areas they need to improve on in the playoffs. While Winnipeg’s shots for & against are excellent, as well as their bodychecking…most of the other areas show worrying signs. Too many goals allowed, too little offense, save percentage needs a huge boost, special teams are not getting it done. The Jets also need to turn their typically solid 5 on 5 play into actual goals on the scoreboard.
So, work on that stuff while they also focus on jumping out of the gates from the opening puck drop. Keep Dallas on their back heels all night and treat the cheering White Out crowd to another big playoff win.
Feel free to share your thoughts on the upcoming game in the Comment section.
Go Winnipeg!!!!!!!!!!!!
***12 exclamation marks for the 12 wins the Jets need to lift the Cup.***
