DALLAS — The Winnipeg Jets possess a puzzling combination of regular-season success and playoff struggles, particularly away from home.
Over the current season and the previous two, the Jets lead all National Hockey League teams with 154 regular-season victories. Despite this impressive record, they hold the unfortunate distinction of having lost the most consecutive road playoff games. On Tuesday, they suffered a 3-1 defeat against the Dallas Stars, putting their season in serious jeopardy, even though their performance on the road in this game was arguably their best of the current Stanley Cup tournament.
Remarkably, this was the first game in Winnipeg`s extended, and frankly baffling, nine-game road playoff losing streak where they managed to keep the opponent`s score below four goals. Conversely, it marked the ninth time during this streak that the Jets themselves failed to score more than two goals.
Jets head coach Scott Arniel, who inherited the team`s road difficulties from predecessor Rick Bowness, expressed his disappointment after the Stars took a commanding 3-1 lead in the second-round series. “We had 70 shot attempts and scored one goal,” Arniel lamented. “If we can`t find more than one goal, we`re not going to win hockey games, especially against this hockey team.”
Arniel highlighted positive aspects of the game, including their five-on-five play and a strong start in the first period where they generated good scoring chances. “I liked a lot of what we did five-on-five. I liked a lot of the opportunities that we created. I loved our first period. We got off to a great start, had them hemmed in, had some great looks. (Jake) Oettinger made some big stops.” He reiterated the core problem: “But like I said, we had 70 shot attempts. We`ve got to get… more than one goal off of those. Maybe that`s driving harder (to the net), finding those rebounds, screening, whatever it is. We`ve done it in the past and we`ve got to find a way to do it the next game.”
