Connor Hellebuyck’s 21-save shutout was the talk of the town as the Winnipeg Jets walked over the Dallas Stars 4-0 to even the series Friday night at Canada Life Centre.
Game Story
The Jets didn’t take their foot off the gas at any point in the game as they got off to a hot start against the Stars.
Tyler Seguin got his stick up high on Josh Morrissey, resulting in a double minor power play for the Winnipeg Jets. Dallas killed off the first minor, but Gabriel Vilardi got his first goal of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs with 42 seconds left on the power play. After locating the loose puck in the crease, Vilardi potted it in the back of the net to give the Jets the early 1-0 lead.
The capacity crowd inside Canada Life Centre and the Winnipeg Whiteout Street Party went bananas for Vilardi’s goal, but during the goal announcement, it was announced that Nikolaj Ehlers and Josh Morrissey both got assists on the goal, and the building erupted.
The Jets continued to hem the Stars in the opening seven minutes of the game, and a nice rim around the boards by Morrissey got to the stick of Haydn Fleury while the Jets were in the middle of a line change. Fleury found the stick of Ehlers, who then went to pass it to Mark Scheifele, but the puck redirected off of Esa Lindell’s skate and narrowly beat Oettinger.
The first period was in the books, and the Jets had a commanding 2-0 lead. They outshot the Stars 13-7 in the first 20 minutes of the game and looked to continue that momentum into the second period.
The second period was a little more even for the Jets and Stars as Dallas looked like they were shot out of a cannon. However, the clock passed the 11-minute mark and the captain, Adam Lowry, capitalized on a great bounce to add the extra insurance that beat Oettinger high.
The Jets kept pounding the Stars in their zone and it led to even more chances, but Oettinger stood on his head and prevented the Jets from gaining more ground.
As the physicality heightened, Pete DeBoer made an odd move as the Stars were aggressive and desperate to take a 2-0 series lead back home to Dallas. With seven minutes left to play and a faceoff at centre ice, the Stars pulled Oettinger.
Gaining extended zone time in the Jets’ end was exactly what the Stars did, but one broken-up pass by Nikolaj Ehlers led to him ripping the puck down the ice into the empty net to score the fourth and final goal of the game.
Ehlers’ three-point (2G, 1A) outing was a massive factor in the Jets’ 4-0 win, but Hellebuyck’s 21-save shutout takes the cake.
What’s Next?
The Winnipeg Jets are headed to Dallas to face the Stars at American Airlines Center on Sunday, May 11th. Puck drop is scheduled for 3:30 pm CST.
ITR 37: Round Two – Inside The Rink
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