The Dallas Stars may have made a lot of noise at the trade deadline, but there’s a reason why they went out to get someone like Mikko Rantanen.
The Stars felt the need to raise their level to match the Winnipeg Jets, and if Friday night was any indication, they’ve still got some work to do.
The Jets’ top line dominated, while Connor Hellebuyck was stellar in goal as Winnipeg knocked off the Stars 4-1 in front of a raucous crowd to stretch their lead atop the Central Division.
Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele each had three points in the win. The Jets built up a three-goal lead through 40 minutes and held the Stars to just eight shots in the third as Winnipeg won for the fourth time in their last five contests in their biggest game of the season.
“Every game now is going to be the next big game,” said Connor. “It’s going to keep getting bigger. So, we were able to rise to the test today and hopefully we learn some lessons on what that looks like, and kinda our foundation of how we were able to come out on top, and play such a good game tonight.”
The victory sees the Jets tighten their grip on the Central Division lead. They moved 10 points ahead of the second place Stars, but Dallas has two games in hand and they still have to play each other one more time.
“I think we kinda want to hit the ground running when playoffs start,” said forward Morgan Barron. “I don’t think anyone wants to creep in, not playing their best hockey. We’re trying to put our foot down here, really secure that first place, and that’s a big step for us.”
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Connor scored twice, while Barron and Dylan Samberg also found the net. The Jets were outshot in the both first two periods despite having all three goals.
“We had to be at our best against a really good hockey team that doesn’t give you a whole lot of ice,” said head coach Scott Arniel. “I thought we had a fantastic first period. It was real solid and got out and got the lead, and didn’t stop from there.”
The Jets got on the board first thanks to an unlikely source. Connor carried the puck into the Dallas end before sliding it across to Scheifele, who spun back and held the puck while waiting for Samberg to arrive in the zone. Scheifele hit the trailer and Samberg wired a shot past Jake Oettinger at the 8:01 mark for his fifth of the season and his eighth in 201 career NHL games.
Scheifele came oh-so-close to making to making it 2-0 with roughly six minutes to go in the first when he got the puck on a back-door feed and made a move to his backhand, beating Oettinger but he slid his shot off the post.
Winnipeg’s top line wasn’t done attacking, doubling the lead with 2:58 to go in the first. Gabriel Vilardi battled for the puck in the corner before it arrived on the stick of Scheifele, who sent a short pass to Connor that he whipped through an unsuspecting Oettinger for his 34th of the season.
Dallas wound up outshooting Winnipeg 9-6 in the first, but the Jets had the better quality opportunities.
The big game for the Jets’ big guns continued in the second when Connor tallied his second of the game to make it 3-0.
After Josh Morrissey forced a turnover in the Winnipeg end, Scheifele chipped the puck up the boards and Connor collected it just outside the Dallas blue line. Connor waited for Morrissey to enter the play and executed a perfect give-and-go before Connor wired the puck past Oettinger at the 6:43 mark of the second.
With 4:15 left in the middle frame, the first penalty of the contest was finally called as Colin Miller was sent to the box for interference, but the Stars couldn’t cash in as the score stayed 3-0 after 40 minutes.
Dallas outshot Winnipeg 8-4 in the second, but Hellebuyck kept the sheet clean.
The Jets added on at the 7:26 mark of the third when Morgan Barron tipped a Dylan DeMelo point shot past Oettinger to make it 4-0.
With the game well in hand, the only thing left to determine was whether Hellebuyck would pick up the shutout, and with 3:49 left in the game Mason Marchment broke the goose egg for Dallas.
Still, it was a great game for Hellebuyck, who outdueled his Team USA batterymate by stopping 24 shots while Oettinger turned aside 18 in defeat.
Winnipeg will look to stretch their win streak to three games as they hit the road to face Seattle on Sunday evening. Pregame coverage on 680 CJOB begins at 6 p.m. with the puck dropping just after 8 p.m.