3:30 pm CT – TV: Sportsnet; Radio: 680 CJOB/Power 97
DALLAS – Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel has often said that momentum doesn’t transfer from game to game in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
He didn’t believe it after his team dropped the opener of the best-of-seven series with the Dallas Stars, and that doesn’t change even after the Jets shut out the Stars in Game 2 on Friday night.
He knows full well that the Jets will have to start right back at square one when the puck drops at American Airlines Center this afternoon for Game 3.
“It’s going to be a tough building,” said Arniel. “They grabbed home ice from us by winning Game 1 so we’re going to have to win down there.”
In the finale of the regular season series, the Jets did earn a victory at American Airlines Center on April 10. Not too much can be leaned on from that game however, as the Jets also had success at Enterprise Center – the home of the St. Louis Blues – in the regular season (earning two wins) but came up empty in the three games in the First Round.
“It’s lessons learned, Arniel said. “This is a really good hockey team we’re going against… They’ll be behind their fans in that building so we’ve got to play that type of game like we played (Friday).”
One of the things Winnipeg did well on Friday is get off to a strong start. An early power play goal by Gabriel Vilardi was followed by another tally by Nikolaj Ehlers – the first goal of the postseason for both players – to give the Jets a 2-0 lead just 7:07 into the contest. The Jets expect a response from the Stars, who not only pushed the race for the Central Division regular season crown into the final week of the season, but has also won three of their four games at home so far this postseason.
“You get into the playoffs and you’re facing the same team maybe seven times in a row, there’s the chess match element,” said Josh Morrissey. “Even within that, our number one focus is our own game and preparing to play the way that’s made us successful this year. I thought (Friday) we did a lot of those things. Regardless of the opponent there’s a way we have to play.”
Morrissey, of course, returned to the Jets line-up after being injured in Game 7 against St. Louis in the first period. The defenceman missed Game 1 of the Second Round series against Dallas as well, but put up one assist in a team-leading 22:39 of ice time on Friday night.
“He’s a big minute man for us. He plays against the other teams’ top lines,” Arniel said of Morrissey, who now has four assists in eight playoff games this spring. “You saw what he can do, both quarterbacking that power play and also the offensive side, him jumping, him in the offensive zone. He’s a tough guy to target. He’s a tough guy to kind of shut down when he has the puck up there.”
With the early puck drop, neither team will hold a morning skate prior to puck drop. Warm-up will likely be the best indication of any line-up changes.
Regardless of whether the Jets make any changes or not, they don’t want to change much from Game 2.
After all, as much as Arniel talks about momentum in a series, he’s also stated numerous times throughout the 2024-25 campaign that there isn’t a “home way” or a “road way” to play. There is only “the right way.”
It’s a message that has clearly made its way through a veteran Jets squad.
“As everybody knows I think momentum in the playoffs is often in-game, I don’t think it often carries over from game to game,” said Morrissey. “It will be a whole different animal going on the road here. But definitely a lot we can build on. Obviously power play was great, penalty kill as well, goaltending. Lots we can build on and take to Dallas.”
