WINNIPEG — That was as close to a playoff-like atmosphere as you’ll find in mid-March.
We heard a cohesive “Go Jets Go” chant before the anthems. A “Helly’s backup” chant aimed at Jake Oettinger in the second period. And decibel-popping cheers after goals. Fans belted out “Sweet Caroline” and “Hey Baby” even when the songs weren’t played during a TV timeout.
Friday’s 4-1 win over the Dallas Stars wasn’t just another game for the Winnipeg Jets and everyone spectating knew it.
“It was a big game,” Jets head coach Scott Arniel said of the team’s cushion on first place in the Central Division. “The difference between us being up six points or now being up 10 points.”
According to Moneypuck.com, Winnipeg now has a 90.1 per cent chance of finishing first in the Central Division after beating the Stars. Had they lost in regulation, those odds would’ve dipped to 70.5 per cent.
This was a measuring stick game against a red-hot Stars team that had won eight of their previous 10 games, while also picking up Mikko Rantanen along the way. And the Jets passed this test with flying colours.
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It started with their structured defensive style dictating the first 20 minutes of play, suffocating Dallas’ offensive attack en route to generating a 2-0 lead.
“I thought we dictated the pace right from the hop,” Jets forward Kyle Connor said. “Played with a lot of pace, played within our structure, defended first. You look at a couple of goals there that we scored, the first one they have possession in our zone for a little bit, we just kept it simple, trusted each other, made the turnover and then (scored a goal off the rush).”
The Jets are the last team you want to be chasing, especially when they build up a 3-0 lead after 40 minutes. Winnipeg holds a 36-0-1 record when leading after the second period, and they’re 29-3-3 when scoring the first goal of the game.
“They’re a (well) structured team,” Stars forward Mason Marchment said. “They play a really good team game, they break out well and come up together well and their D are always in the rush. So It can be hard to get on top of them sometimes.”
It’s downright annoying to play against.
Winnipeg held Dallas to 1.74 expected goals at five-on-five — a significant drop from their season average (2.20), the fifth-best mark in the league.
“We talk about playing that defensive structure, staying on top of teams and really stymying their momentum,” Jets forward Morgan Barron said. “When we’re playing our best, that’s exactly what it is. The other teams aren’t necessarily continuing that offensive flow that they get into.”
They executed that perfectly against Dallas.
“Every opponent that you face has something maybe different that they throw at you, whether it’s how they defend or how they attack you offensively,” Arniel said. “We threw a game plan together, we did some things yesterday in practice to align with what we wanted to do today. The guys grasp it and then they go out and do it and they execute it. For me as a coach, you love to see that.
“We’re trying to find avenues and areas that we can take advantage of, whether it’s Dallas tonight or Seattle on Sunday. You’re trying to find an avenue where you make them make a mistake. Our group has bought into how we go about our business. Whether it’s defending and frustrating a team or if it’s our offensive push that creates those scoring chances. The guys buy into it and they do it. Night in and night out.”
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While nobody outright said it, much of the hype heading into this game stemmed from curiosity about how Winnipeg would stack up against a revamped Stars team post-deadline.
Does a game like this alleviate the anxiety surrounding how much better Dallas — not to mention Colorado — got at the deadline?
Connor wasn’t calling this a statement win by any means.
“The playoffs, it’s such a different game. It’s so different,” he said. “You look at our series versus Colorado in the regular season, I think we swept them last year and we lost 4-1 in the playoffs. Once you get to the playoffs, it’s a completely different animal.”
As they have all year, the Jets aren’t reading too much into regular-season success. Unless it’s paired with a Stanley Cup, nobody will be celebrating a Presidents’ Trophy.
That’s not to say this group has approached the regular season with a “none of this matters” attitude. But 67 games into the season, a big part of their success is rooted in how they’ve humbled themselves throughout a season where they’ve sat first in the West virtually all year.
“We’ve been here — at least, well, I can speak to it for the three years I’ve been here at least — it kind of seems like we’ve been in different situations, but similar,” Barron said. “We’re in a playoff spot heading down the stretch and you just learn that as soon as you start looking ahead, whether it’s looking ahead to the playoffs or looking ahead to the game next week or looking ahead to your next shift, you kind of get lost there. I think it’s been really good for us to stay in that present moment.”
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