The Winnipeg Jets tied up their second-round matchup with the Dallas Stars Friday night, but as the series shifts to Texas they’ll be looking to do something they haven’t done so far in this year’s playoffs — win on the road.
Winnipeg lost all three road games in their first-round series against the St. Louis Blues, during which they were outscored 17-5. Goalie Connor Hellebuyck was pulled in all three of those games.
“That’s going to be a tough building,” Jets head coach Scott Arniel said after the team’s 4-0 win in Game 2 Friday night. “They grabbed home ice [advantage] from us by winning Game 1, so we’re going to have to win down there.”
Arniel said lessons were learned from the series against the Blues, and success in Dallas will depend on doing more of what led to Friday’s win.
WATCH | Scott Arniel speaks to reporters after Jets Game 2 win:
Jets head coach Scott Arniel’s thoughts after Game 2 win
Part of that is the way the team starts games, said Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey, adding that element was “a lot better” Friday than in the series opener.
Winnipeg was outshot 8-0 early in Game 1, before finishing the first period up 13-12 in that department, but ultimately losing 3-2.
In Friday’s Game 2, Winnipeg scored two goals in the opening period and outshot Dallas 13-7.
“We’re going to have to continue to build off of those good starts here,” Morrissey said. “But it was overall a pretty good game all around, and we’re going to have to take that on the road.”
Winnipeg will also need Hellebuyck — a finalist for the league’s top goalie and MVP awards — to carry his play from Friday’s victory into games 3 and 4 in Dallas.
Hellebuyck stopped all 21 shots he faced Friday, as chants of “MVP” rained down at Canada Life Centre every time he made a save.
“There was stretches of the first round where I … wasn’t getting the results, but broke it down, built it back better, and I like where we’re at, and the team in front of me is playing phenomenal,” Hellebuyck said Friday.
He also said come Sunday, the win in Game 2 will be in the rear-view.
“It helps because we’re playing our game, and we know what it looks like and we know what it feels like,” said Hellebuyck.
“That being said, we gotta wipe it and go play a hard road game, and it’s never easy on the road — especially not in playoff time.”
Despite being winless away from Canada Life Centre so far in the playoffs, the Jets won the most road games in the league during the regular season, with 26.
Back in April, Hellebuyck made 25 saves as Winnipeg beat Dallas 4-0 at American Airlines Center in the final meeting of the regular season between the division rivals.
Winnipeg’s only other game in Texas this season saw them lose 3-1, with Hellebuyck stopping 28 of the 30 shots he faced on Dec. 1.
Meanwhile, the Stars were a Top 10 team at home in the regular season, winning 28 games there. They’re currently 3-1 at home in the 2025 playoffs.
But outside Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg Friday night, fans weren’t dismayed about the team’s road record in the playoffs so far.
“They’re one of the best road teams, if not the best,” said Levi Harvey. “I feel pretty confident that if Hellebuyck plays good and the team around him can rally, I think they have a good chance to win on the road.”
He also said it won’t be easy.
“I can only imagine how going down to Dallas and playing in their barn would be,” he said. “So I can see it being extremely tough, especially because Dallas is an incredibly good team.”
Jets fan Imre Nemeth is also keeping the faith.
“If they play their game, there’s not a team in the NHL that can actually beat them,” said Nemeth. “So we’re pretty confident in what their abilities are, and where they’re going to go with this.”
The Jets and Stars will meet again Sunday afternoon for Game 3, where puck drop is set for 3:30 p.m. CT. Tuesday’s Game 4 is also in Dallas, with a 7 p.m. start.
The series returns to Winnipeg for Game 5 on Thursday, with an 8:30 p.m. start.
