14-05-2025
‘We need to win'
Will it take a three-game winning streak or a series of three one-game winning streaks to keep the season alive?
No matter how you slice it, psychologically or otherwise, the Winnipeg Jets have reached the fork in the road where the room for error has transformed from slim to none.
By dropping the 3-1 decision to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night, the Jets will face elimination for the second time in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Gareth Patterson / The Associated Press
Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel, back right, yells at his players on the ice in the third period of Game 4 of their second-round NHL hockey playoff series in Dallas, Tuesday.
By now, everyone knows how Game 7 against the St. Louis Blues turned out – thanks in part to the Manitoba Miracle that literally and figuratively brought a province to its feet, first in disbelief after a pair of six-on-five goals with the goalie on the bench in favour of an extra attacker sent the game to a fourth period.
Then, in exaltation after Jets captain Adam Lowry helped his team advance to the second round for the first time since 2021.
So, it's clear the Jets can handle the pressure cooker that comes with putting your collective season on the line.
The issue now is whether or not they can avoid a knockout punch on three separate occasions in order to reach the NHLs Final Four.
Never mind the daunting nature of the task at hand.
The Jets can't post a three-game winning streak without getting the first one and the opportunity to do so comes on Thursday at Canada Life Centre, where the Jets are 5-1 this spring – including a tidy 4-0 victory in Game 2 that left the series even.
A team that has prided itself on its ability to turn the page after debriefing the night before will once again try to achieve that goal.
Unlike most of the previous four road games played in the playoffs, the video session won't resemble sifting through the rubble and seeking positive reinforcement.
By generating a total of 72 shot attempts on Tuesday, the Jets were able to create enough quality looks to win the hockey game.
But a sparkling performance from Stars goalie Jake Oettinger, who made 31 saves, limited the Jets to a single and solitary goal.
Gareth Patterson / The Associated Press
Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger stops a shot from Winnipeg Jets' Gabriel Vilardi in the third period in Dallas, Tuesday.
That goal came on a heads-up play at the end of a Jets' power play by Nikolaj Ehlers, who was actually looking to pass the puck to the backdoor before he caught Oettinger cheating ever so slightly.
It was the only misstep of the contest for Oettinger, who has been the best goalie in this series through four games – even with Connor Hellebuyck recording a 21-save shutout in Game 2.
This was a night when the much-ballyhooed Jets' offence let down its Vezina-winning goaltender, not the other way around.
What is also true is that Hellebuyck gave up a goal on a snapshot from distance in the first period from Mikael Granlund that needed to be stopped.
When it wasn't, it left the Jets in a precarious position of chasing the game – something that has become far too familiar for them in this series.
Outside of Game 2, the Jets have been playing from behind far too often and that's a big part of the reason they've ended up on the losing side of the ledger three times through four games.
The level of urgency is sure to come up for the Jets.
There isn't a single player that is ready for this dream season to end, something that was apparent in the aftermath of Tuesday's loss.
'We know what the message is,' Hellebuyck told reporters when asked about what might have been said in the room by Jets head coach Scott Arniel. 'We know what the stakes are.'
Arniel, himself, had a simple message when asked about the mentality required.
Gareth Patterson / The Associated Press
Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck cotrols the puck and as Haydn Fleury moves in to take control in the first period.
'Real simple,' he explained. 'Don't lose your last game.'
That could be easier said than done, considering this edition of the Stars has yet to lose consecutive games through 11 outings in these Stanley Cup playoffs and are a highly motivated bunch after being eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference final last spring.
Dallas has been knocking at the door for years and is trying to get over the top for the first time since 1999, when that Stars' championship team included Winnipeggers Mike Keane and Grant Ledyard and future Hall of Famer Eddie Belfour of Carman.
Winnipeg Jets Game Days
On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.
The Jets are chasing the first NHL title in franchise history and laid the groundwork for this run by putting together an outstanding regular season, one that resulted in a first Central Division crown, a Western Conference title and a Presidents' Trophy.
Those experiences, coupled with some of the disappointments from the prior two playoff losses to the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche were supposed to regenerate some of that scar tissue – something Jets centre Mark Scheifele touched on prior to the start of the postseason.
There's little doubt the Jets are battling and have put some of those valuable lessons to use here, but the road to the ultimate goal includes 16 victories and so far, this group has managed five.
Going out with a whimper simply isn't an option for the Jets, not after all of the growth they've shown over the course of the past eight months or so.
This is a team that started the season with eight consecutive victories, lost a game and then rattled off seven straight wins.
The 15-1 start was the best in NHL history and essentially punched the Jets ticket to the playoffs in November.
Gareth Patterson / The Associated Press
Winnipeg Jets Gabriel Vilardi, Nikolaj Ehlers, Luke Schenn, Josh Morrissey and Kyle Connor celebrate after Ehlers scored against the Dallas Stars in the second period.
As they managed the highs and lows of the marathon campaign, the Jets battled through adversity and pushed back all comers when it came to the division, the conference and first overall.
The Jets know what they look like when they're at their very best and right now, they're very best is exactly what's going to be required to keep this season alive.
'Absolutely, you need to win four games to move on,' said Ehlers. 'They're at three, we're at one. It can't be more simple than that. We need to win.
'And I think with the crowd that we have at home, the amount of energy that they give to us every single game, (we) want to repay that by playing another few games in Winnipeg.'
X and Bluesky: @WiebesWorld
Ken WiebeReporter
Ken Wiebe is a sports reporter for the Free Press, with an emphasis on the Winnipeg Jets. He has covered hockey and provided analysis in this market since 2000 for the Winnipeg Sun, The Athletic, and TSN. Ken was a summer intern at the Free Press in 1999 and returned to the Free Press in a full-time capacity in September of 2023. Read more about Ken.
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