We all knew the Winnipeg Jets would need to win at least once on the road if they hoped to force a Game 7 — something they’ve yet to do this postseason. They completed the first step with a dominant 4–0 win in Game 5. Now, they’ll have to confront their biggest challenge: taking down the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center in a do-or-die Game 6.

For the second straight home game, the Jets blanked the Stars 4–0. Mark Scheifele and Vladislav Namestnikov hit the scoresheet, while Nikolaj Ehlers scored twice, continuing his offensive surge. Connor Hellebuyck turned in another stellar performance, earning his second consecutive shutout at home with 22 saves.

His highlight of the night? A jaw-dropping windmill stop on Thomas Harley early in the second period, keeping the game scoreless.

“I’m glad you brought that up, actually. That was incredible,” captain Adam Lowry said postgame. “Another stellar game by him. Like you said, it’s 0-0. We have a bit of a breakdown, and we could easily be down 1-0 there. It gets the building on their feet, gives us some energy, lets us take a deep breath, and we are able to score four-on-four not too long after. We have so much confidence in Connor, what he does, what he means for our team.”

Ehlers, who now has five goals in the series after entering with just four in 39 career playoff games, spoke about his return to form since coming back from injury.

“I feel good,” Ehlers said. “Obviously there’s things that I want to clean up, too — my whole second period, for example. But I think, overall, I got my legs going and I got them going early and obviously that’s a huge part of my game. That’s something that I want to continue doing.”

With his fifth goal of the series, Ehlers is now tied with Kyle Connor as the Jets’ leading scorer in the postseason.

Of course, no discussion is complete without acknowledging the stat hanging over this team like a storm cloud: Winnipeg has lost nine consecutive playoff road games. With their season on the line, that streak must end tonight.

“There’s no better time than now,” Lowry said. “We haven’t played well on the road at all this playoff, so no better time than now to start. Like we’ve done all year, we’re going to review this one, find the areas that we need to improve on, and go and try to implement that in Game 6.”

The Jets’ power play, which has started to click, will be critical again — but the biggest x-factor remains their MVP goaltender. Hellebuyck has struggled on the road this postseason, posting a save percentage of just .793. He’ll need to outduel Jake Oettinger to give Winnipeg its best shot at a Game 7 back at Canada Life Centre.

After Game 5, Hellebuyck was all business.

“Let’s just focus on Game 6,” he said. “We’ve got one more game ahead of us. We’ve got to prepare the right way, get a recovery in, and bring that same game.”

Connor – Scheifele – Vilardi

Ehlers – Namestnikov – Perfetti

Niederreiter – Lowry – Appleton

Tanev – Barron – Iafallo

Morrissey – DeMelo

Samberg – Pionk

Fleury – Schenn

Hellebuyck

Comrie

Granlund – Hintz – Rantanen

Benn – Duchene – Seguin

Robertson – Johnston – Petrovic

Marchment – Steel – Dadonov

Harley – Heiskanen

Lindell – Ceci

Bichsel – Lyubushkin

Oettinger

DeSmith