The Winnipeg Jets were back in action tonight to begin their 2nd round matchup against the Dallas Stars. Both teams advanced to round 2 on the weekend thanks to some wonderful come from behind victories, with the Jets being just 2 seconds away from being eliminated before tying their game 7 in the 3rd period. While fans may be rightfully still celebrating one of the most epic games in Jets 2.0 history, the players were ready to begin their next challenge: the 2nd place team in the Central Division, the Dallas Stars.

The Jets had a 3-1-0 record against the Stars this season, but they still entered this series as the betting underdogs. Josh Morrissey and Logan Stanley practiced prior to game 1, but both were out for tonight’s game. Mark Scheifele was back tonight after leaving game 5 against the Blues with an injury, meaning that the Jets forward group was back to full strength. Tonight’s game started as a defensive battle, but in the end it was Mikko Rantanen’s 2nd period natural hat trick that pushed the Stars to victory in game 1 at Canada Life Centre.

The Winnipeg Whiteout was just as loud as its ever been these playoffs, and you could tell the city was excited to get this round 2 matchup going. The starting goalies for this series are two of the best American goalies in the world: Jake Oettinger and Connor Hellebuyck. The first 5 shots of the game came from the Stars, as Hellebuyck looked good early on as he looked to continue his strong play at Canada Life Centre.

As the 1st period of this series went on, both teams began to trade chances at 5 on 5. The Jets finally got their offence going with a good chance from Kyle Connor, which seemed to spark the rest of the team. The Jets got the 1st powerplay of the game with 6 1/2 minutes to play in the 1st after Mason Marchment hooked Neal Pionk. This man advantage looked okay from the Jets, but the game remained scoreless.

With 8 seconds left in the 1st period, Cody Ceci high sticked Nino Niederreiter, sending the Jets back on the powerplay. After a final chance from Pionk from the point, the clock hit all 0’s and this game remained scoreless after 20 minutes. Shots on goal were at one point 9-1 Stars, but the Jets turned it around in the last 10 minutes of the 1st period and ended up leading in shots 13-12. Teams were fairly even in other stats in this competitive 1st period, but the Jets stood out with 9 blocked shots.

The Jets opened the 2nd period on the powerplay, but the Jets could only manage 1 shot on goal. Some good puck control from the Jets gave them some momentum after the man advantage, and less than 2 minutes after the penalty expired, the Jets took the 1-0 lead. Haydn Fleury, who was playing on the top pairing with Dylan DeMelo tonight, sent a nice pass up the ice to Mason Appleton. After entering the Stars zone, Appleton slowed down and passed one ahead to Nino Niederreiter. After a quick power move to get on the backhand, Niederreiter fired the puck on the backhand past Oettinger to give the Jets the 1st goal of this series.

The lead only lasted about 5 minutes for the Jets, as Mikko Rantanen found a way to tie this game up at 1. After Sam Steel entered the Jets zone, he found Evgenii Dadonov open on the other side of the ice. A shot from Dadonov was only half stopped by Hellebuyck, and Mikko Rantanen went towards the crease and battled his way into a position to poke the puck into the net.

Just over a minute later, the Jets had a chance to regain the lead with their 3rd powerplay of the night. Despite being 0/2 with 6 shots total on their other powerplays tonight, the Jets felt confident they could get one past Oettinger this time. This powerplay was once again solid, but the Jets went to 0/3 on the man advantage and this game was still tied at 1.

The Stars took a 2-1 lead with just over 5 minutes to play in the 2nd period. Ilya Lyubushkin passed the puck across at the point to Thomas Harley, who fired one on goal. Mikko Rantanen got a near perfect deflection on the puck, as it went up and over Hellebuyck to give the Stars the lead. Rantanen’s 2nd of the night (on his 4th shot) was his 7th of the playoffs, and he now leads the playoffs in points.

After the go ahead goal, the Stars began to look like the better team, generating some good chances on net. After a few nice saves from Hellebuyck, Haydn Fleury took a cross-checking penalty against Tyler Seguin, sending the Stars on their 1st powerplay of the night. The top powerplay unit for the Stars wasted no time, as they would make this a 3-1 game 27 seconds into the powerplay. Roope Hintz and Matt Duchene set up Mikko Rantanen near the faceoff dot, and Rantanen’s shot went off Dylan Samberg and past Hellebuyck. Rantanen’s 8th of the playoffs made it a natural hat trick for the Stars major trade deadline acquisition.

Down 3-1, the Jets needed something to happen to turn the momentum around. Less than a minute later, off a turnover in the Stars zone, Gabriel Vilardi found Mark Scheifele alone in front, who quickly wristed one past Oettinger to make this a 3-2 game.

That much needed response from the Jets got them right back in this game, and they went into the 2nd intermission down by only 1 goal. Shots in the 2nd period were even at 8 each, but it was the talented Mikko Rantanen who made the difference in this high scoring 2nd period. The Jets continued to lead in total shots on goal 21-20, and the physicality picked up in the 2nd period, with the Jets out hitting the Stars by a total of 34-18 after 40 minutes. With 20 minutes to play, this game remained anyone’s to win, with both teams looking to take this early series lead.

The Jets started the 3rd period with good energy, creating a few early scoring chances. The chances were halted when Gabriel Vilardi took an interference penalty after a collision with Jason Robertson. 38 seconds into the poweplay, Dylan DeMelo and Roope Hintz got into a wresting match behind the play, and both were sent off for roughing. The rest of the Stars powerplay was wonderfully defended by the Jets, limiting the Stars zone time by clearing the puck out and down the ice multiple times.

With 19 seconds to go in the powerplay, right after a faceoff, Tyler Seguin sprang forward and high sticked Neal Pionk. The penalty looked accidental, but it was still the right call, and after a short 4 on 4 the Jets went on their 4th powerplay of the night. This powerplay came and went for the Jets without much noise, as the Jets didn’t get a shot on goal on this man advantage and were now 0/4 on the powerplay.

The Jets continued to push for the game tying goal, with Scheifele and Samberg getting chances on Oettinger. Scheifele was also very noticeable in the faceoff circle tonight, looking confident and winning important draws in his return to the lineup. You could tell the Jets were close to getting that game tying goal with every chance, but the Stars continued to have the lead with 3 minutes to go.

With around 2 minutes left, the Jets pulled the goalie, going for their final push of the game. The Jets got close on their next good chance, resulting in a mad scramble in the crease that was eventually cleared by the Stars. With 1:18 remaining, the Stars took their timeout, looking to regroup as the Jets were battling to tie this game.

With 30 seconds left Neal Pionk took a shot that was deflected by Scheifele through his legs, but Oettinger tracked the puck all the way and made the save. Scheifele got another chance that was stopped, and the Jets were down to 8.7 seconds left after another icing call. The Jets couldn’t get another good chance, and this game ended 3-2 for the Stars. Shots on goal in the 3rd period were 11-4 Jets, with the final shots on goal being 32-24 for the Jets.

Tonight was a pretty good effort from the Jets, but just not good enough. The 0/4 on the powerplay stings, and despite a good final push from the Jets, they couldn’t find a way to get one more past Oettinger. Mikko Rantanen put his team on his back in the 2nd period, scoring that natural hat trick that would be the difference maker tonight. Despite the loss, there’s some promising signs from the Jets in terms of their performance, and I’m confident that this will still be a long series. Game 2 of this series goes back at Canada Life Centre on Friday night at 8:30 pm CT. It’s not an elimination game for the Jets, but going down 2-0 to the Stars without home ice advantage would be a very difficult task for the Jets to pull off. It was a disappointing result tonight, but Jets fans should keep their heads up and get ready for game 2 on Friday.

Browse inventory, schedule a test drive and experience your dream Toyota today
at shoptoyota.ca