Dallas Stars: Confident Win Against Jets Reignites Playoff Race Promise
By Josh Clark
Monday night was an important night for the Dallas Stars, and they found a way to make it count. After downing the Winnipeg Jets in what could be a preview of the first round of playoffs, they reignited their playoff hopes and built up some important confidence.
The Dallas Stars had a perfect opportunity to panic on Monday night.
They had just finished up a disappointing and frustrating 1-3-1 homestand, had watched their playoff odds drop 10 percent, and seen their cushion on the playoff wall drop from seven points to three in a matter of days.
On top of that, they were staring down a four-game road trip that started off against two of the top three teams in the Western Conference. Their road record sat below .500, the memories of a March 2018 collapse that led to an early offseason were looming, and the Avalanche, Coyotes, and Wild were inching closer to the top wild card spot.
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To top it all off, Dallas was in Winnipeg to face a Jets team that sat atop the Central division standings. They hadn’t defeated the Jets on the road since Feb. 23, 2016 and had dropped a 5-1 dud in Winnipeg back in January.
So yes, there was an opportunity for the Stars to panic before the game and trip began. The playoff race was far from over in the West and Dallas needed a big road win to right the ship.
But they didn’t panic like last year’s team might have. Instead, the Dallas Stars put their nose to the grindstone and mowed over the Jets in a dominant 5-2 victory.
A lot of it had to do with their start. Dallas jumped out of the gate with speed and aggression using a rarely-seen and unusual offensive assault to push the Jets onto their heels. Their transitions were quick, they created odd-man rushes, and they even controlled the tempo while shorthanded after Brett Ritchie took an early penalty. And yet, they still couldn’t break through in the opening frame.
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Jason Dickinson created some great scoring chances in the first period while playing on the top line, but couldn’t score. Miro Heiskanen had a wide-open net, but Mark Scheifele was there to stop it with a perfectly-timed block using his stick blade. The Stars had 12 shots in the opening 20 minutes and looked like a new offensive team, but still couldn’t score.
That didn’t discourage them, though. Dallas kept their foot on the offensive gas pedal and used a fast pace to further stifle the Jets in the second period. And that’s where it all changed.
Esa Lindell finally broke through with the game’s opening goal midway through the second period after some nice puck movement by the Stars. Two minutes later, Radek Faksa scored after some nice passing by Ben Bishop and Mattias Janmark that took advantage of a poorly-timed Winnipeg line change.
Less than three minutes later the 2-0 lead was secured, Tyler Seguin scored on the power play on a crafty fake-out to force the deficit to 3-0. By second intermission, the Dallas Stars looked like a completely different team and looked to have secured two important points.
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Seguin further pushed the game into “blowout” territory when he scored another power play goal midway through the third period. But Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine were quick to respond and help get the Jets on the board, scoring goals within five minutes of each other to cut the deficit in half. The comeback bid stopped there, though, as Faksa potted an empty-netter with 40 seconds left to wrap the game up on a 5-2 note.
In a game that could have defined their season in one way or another, the Dallas Stars came through. They were faster, more aggressive, and more determined than a Jets team that had just dominated the Nashville Predators two days prior and was 5-1-0 in its past six contests.
Simply put, the Stars were the better team. After a handful of frustrating losses that further spotlighted the team’s weakest areas, Dallas bounced back with a surging effort. They received scoring help from the top and bottom of the lineup, went 2/4 on the power play, and never let their confidence waver.
Radek Faksa (2G, +3, 53.3 FOW%) and Jason Dickinson (4 SOG) left their fingerprints all over the offensive zone. Then again, so did Tyler Seguin (2G, 5 SOG) and Alexander Radulov (2A, +1, 3 SOG).
John Klingberg, Miro Heiskanen, and Esa Lindell combined for one goal, two points, a +4 rating, and 11 shots on goal. Those three are also the first defensive trio in Dallas Stars history to score 10 goals each in the same season.
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Ben Bishop was great once again and made a handful of critical stops early in the game to keep Winnipeg off the scoreboard. His efforts earned him a 200th career NHL win.
The Stars dominated every area of the ice and forced the Jets to backpedal and try to stop the bleeding throughout the first 50 minutes. That’s not something that the Dallas Stars from four days ago could do. The Stars from four days ago was unable to secure a lead against a Pittsburgh Penguins team still grappling for position in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
But Monday night showed a smarter and more dedicated Stars team. Monday night’s Stars dug their heels in, beat the man in front of them, and won important battles. They did all of this in what could be a dress rehearsal for their first round matchup in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
According to Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic, the Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets have a 61 percent chance of meeting in the opening round of the 2019 postseason. And before a series like that kicks off, everyone wants to look at the facts.
The Stars went 3-1-0 against the Jets during the 2018-19 regular season. They picked up a critical win in a tough building to close the season series and showed that they can dominate Winnipeg when they control the pace and speed of the game.
But that doesn’t mean that they will be the overwhelming favorite in a potential playoff matchup.
“I don’t think there is any correlation,” said Stars coach Jim Montgomery about comparing Monday’s game to a playoff game. “The building is going to be 20 times louder and the emotion and energy right from the start is going to be significantly higher.”
“It will be tough for sure,” added Stars forward Radek Faksa following the game. “Winnipeg is one of the best teams in the league and I would say playoffs is way different than the regular season. So, it will be way different games than the regular season.”
Postseason hockey is an entirely different animal, so there’s no real point in trying to draw comparisons right now. But the Stars weren’t on Monday night. Instead, they were simply focused on winning a big game and getting closer to securing a playoff spot.
They did just that and once again reignited their playoff hopes and potential in the process. Dallas now sits three points ahead of the second wild card spot and five points up on the playoff wall.
Monday night’s victory was a big win over a divisional foe. It showed just what the Dallas Stars can do when everything clicks.
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And with the excitement and thrill of a big win behind them, the road trip keeps rolling.