The Dallas Stars lost 4-0 in Game 2 against the Winnipeg Jets and head back to American Airlines Center with Round 2 tied 1-1. Both teams started this series coming off an emotional Game 7 win, and while the Jets experienced a bit of a letdown in the first half of Game 1, that letdown for the Stars came on Friday night.
Related: Jets Shut Out Stars 4-0 in Game 2, Even Series 1-1
There are some things to pick apart from the Stars’ perspective, but really, the Jets just played a really solid game right from the opening faceoff, and Connor Hellebuyck was magnificent when he had to be. The Jets are the Presidents’ Trophy winners, and no matter how Jekyll and Hyde they were in Round 1, this is still a very good team, and the Stars should expect their best every night.
Here are three takeaways from the night that was at Canada Life Centre.
Not Enough Offensive Production From Stars’ Forwards
To say that there wasn’t enough offensive production from the Stars after they were shut out 4-0 is extremely obvious. However, it was specifically the lack of production from the forwards that caught my eye. When we say production, that means shots and opportunities, not just goals, and the Stars’ forwards didn’t have a whole lot of them.
Out of the 21 shots on goal for Dallas, only 11 came from forwards, and three of those were off the stick of Wyatt Johnston. That’s just not good enough, plain and simple. There has been plenty of noise about the heroics of Mikko Rantanen, and rightfully so. There are two sides to that coin, however. We saw the other side on Friday night, and it wasn’t pretty.
In the last four games, prior to Friday, Rantanen had eight goals and 14 points, and factored in on the Stars’ last 12 goals. Considering three of those goals were in the third period of a Game 7 and another three were the next game in Game 1 of Round 2, and in Game 6 against the Colorado Avalanche, he had four points in the second period, it’s easy to get caught up in how amazing that is. What we saw on Friday is the other side of that. The Stars are not getting production from anyone else right now, and it’s starting to become a problem.
Too Many Penalties in Game 2 for Dallas
The Stars’ special teams this postseason have been phenomenal so far, both on the power play and the penalty kill. They were 4-for-5 killing penalties on Friday, which doesn’t look so bad. However, it was way too many, and when you’re chasing the game, it can sink you, and that’s exactly how it played out.
Seventeen seconds into the game, Tyler Seguin took a double-minor high-sticking penalty on Josh Morrissey, and on the back half of that penalty, the Jets scored. Boom, down 1-0. Four minutes after the opening goal, the Jets scored again. So, when Jamie Benn got called for tripping at 14:44 of the same period, the Stars were already down 2-0, and it’s hard to generate any sort of momentum to finish a period when you’re in the penalty box.
With 20 seconds left in the second period, Rantanen got called for high-sticking, and the Stars had to start the final 20 minutes down a man. Roughly four minutes after that penalty expired, Lian Bichsel was escorted to the box, resulting in the Stars being down a man for most of the start of the period in a game that they were chasing.
There’s never a good time to take a penalty. But, on Friday, their infractions came at times where you needed to build some momentum and flow, and they just couldn’t do it constantly being down a man.
Hellebuyck and Jets at the Top of Their Game
Although the Stars weren’t overly dangerous over the course of 60 minutes, Hellebuyck was terrific and made some massive and timely saves throughout the game to help the Jets keep the lead and build on it. Especially in the last 10 minutes, there were multiple situations where the game could have been 3-1 or 3-2, which would have set up for a frantic finish. That never happened, and Hellebuyck planted his flag in the series, which should scare the Stars, to a point.
In Round 1, when the Avalanche were at the top of their game, there was a lot of time and space. When the play was tighter and more controlled, that favored the Stars greatly. In this series, the Jets and the Stars are similar in that manner. When the Jets dictate the play, the Stars don’t have room to generate anything, and when they do, Hellebuyck slams the door shut.
With the series shifting back to Dallas, it will be interesting to see what adjustments are made on both sides. There’s also the venue factor in all of this. The Jets were undefeated at home in Round 1, but got blown out of the building on the road. In addition, Hellebuyck was blown out of the crease in every road game. We’ll see what happens over the next two games, but that is certainly something to keep an eye on moving forward.
