Winnipeg still searching for first road win of post-season

Globe and Mail

12-05-2025

Pursed lips, a few deep breaths, and a consistent line of questions.
There are no easy answers to what ails the Winnipeg Jets on the road in the NHL playoffs.
Forward Cole Perfetti talked Monday about the need to focus on effort and attention to detail. Defenceman Josh Morrissey was next out of the visitors' dressing room at American Airlines Centre and said much of the same.
Head coach Scott Arniel, the last to speak in the interview area, recalled a line from a conversation he once had with a 'great coach' who remained nameless.
'There isn't a home or a road way to play,' he said. 'There's only the right way.'
The Jets certainly played the right way in the regular season, securing the Presidents' Trophy and home-ice advantage through the playoffs.
That came in handy in a seven-game win over St. Louis in the first round with the home team winning each time.
However, the Jets not only lost on the road to the Blues, they struggled mightily at times. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was pulled from all three games.
Returning to the road for Game 3 in Dallas after splitting two games at home, Winnipeg played a decent 40 minutes on Sunday before allowing three goals in the third period of a 5-2 defeat.
'It hasn't gone the way we wanted on the road but we're very much in a series right now,' Morrissey said. 'Obviously we can look at some of those moments in games where something doesn't go our way and maybe it compounds a little bit and [we're] better able to handle that in the future.
'But like I said, we're very much in a competitive series right now and obviously tomorrow's game is massive.'
During the off-day media availabilities, a handful of skaters took to the ice for an optional practice. Some players strolled down the hallway in summer casual wear. Others rode stationary bikes and stretched.
Despite the 2-1 deficit in the second-round series, a sense of optimism hovered in the busy hallway.
And why not? These are the top-seeded Jets after all, who had the league's third-best road record (26-15-0) in the regular season and earned 116 points overall.
'This is Game 93 coming up and we've got to get back to being that road team that we were for the 82 [regular-season] games and being better,' Arniel said. 'Certainly this playoff hasn't been good.
'We've got to be more consistent and it's got to be more through the 60 minutes.'
Mikko Rantanen led the charge for Dallas in Game 3 with a three-point performance. He entered Monday's games as the NHL playoff leader in goals (nine) and points (18).
Dallas could also soon get a boost as star defenceman Miro Heiskanen moves closer to a return after undergoing knee surgery in early February.
Stars coach Pete DeBoer said Heiskanen had a scheduled off-day Monday.
'I'm still sticking by what I projected that we would see him in the second round,' he said at the team's practice facility in nearby Frisco.
The Stars have a 38-27 all-time record in Game 4s with a 21-14 record at home. Winnipeg is 3-8 in Game 4s with a 2-5 record on the road.
'If I take off my Dallas hat and just look at [Game 3] from the outside, it's a 2-2 game in the third period,' DeBoer said. 'That's a pretty good road game by that team, I think up until we kind of opened it up there in the last 10 minutes.'
The Jets will need Hellebuyck to snap out of his road funk to get home-ice advantage back.
A nominee for the Vezina and Hart trophies this year, he sits last in the NHL in road playoff goals-against average (6.65) and save percentage (.772).
'I thought we made it tougher on him last night,' DeBoer said. 'I thought we had more traffic and more direct play with the puck. So we've got to continue to build on that.'
Hellebuyck was not made available to speak with reporters after Game 3 or on Monday.
Winnipeg also needs its power play to find its form. The Jets have scored just once in 13 opportunities with the man advantage in this series.
'We were the best team in the league all year,' Perfetti said. 'So I think that gives us all the confidence in the world.'