On the road, they're the Loseipeg Jets. After falling 3-1 to the Stars Tuesday to go down in the series by the same tally, the Manitobans are now an incredible 0-9 in their last nine road playoff games dating back three years. They've been outscored 45-14 over that stretch, and 25-8 in their 0-5 road showing this spring. It is, frankly, kind of baffling. Can Connor Hellebuyck only see pucks against a white-out of shirts? Is having wifi too much of a distraction? "If I had the answer to why," said Nik Ehlers, "we would have gotten one at some point."
The thing is, they played fine last night. They might've been the better team on the ice: They certainly won the shot and possession battles. It's just that Jake Oettinger was near-flawless, and the Dallas power play was flowing, and Mikael Granlund, of all people, beat Hellebuyck glove-side three separate times, on his only three shot attempts.
Granlund, the Stars' "other" midseason acquisition, is 33 years old and a known quantity—long past is the mostly hope-based speculation that he might turn into a real scorer, teased on occasion in Minnesota, which once resulted in him getting traded straight-up for Kevin Fiala. He's a pure rental for Dallas, picked up to provide a steady veteran center who mostly facilitates rather than creates, which is still a pretty juicy job when you're on the Finnish Line setting up Roope Hintz and an otherworldly Mikko Rantanen. (Throw in Esa Lindell and the return of Miro Heiskanen, and Winnipeg might not hold a candle to Finnipeg.) But that's the thing about being a pass-first guy: Defenses and goalies have the book on you, but you can make the book lie. "When you pass all the time, you can surprise the goalie sometimes when you shoot the puck," Granlund said. "It's good to shoot once in a while."
Going out and getting Granlund, who came over with Cody Ceci, represents GM Jim Nill's determination to improve in the margins a team that was already excellent. That restlessness, and that willing to pay the price—their two midseason trades cost the Stars three first-rounders—requires a boldness a lot of front offices don't possess. Many suits are content with the job security provided by rosters that top out at "pretty good," being risk-averse to splashy moves that could backfire. But that's generally not how you win Cups. You win Cups by getting carried by Rantanens, sure, but also by having guys who can step up on the nights the top guys are quiet. The Jets, by comparison, don't seem to have much answer when Kyle Connor doesn't have it going. (Winnipeg's midseason trade haul, at the moment: a fourth-liner, a third-pairing defenseman, a third goalie, and an AHLer.)
Dallas has that "team of destiny" feel right now, which may not actually be anything more than a skilled and complete roster asserting itself. Likewise, while I can't explain the Jets' road struggles extending into a third year, it might not have anything to do with what's happening this series—getting knocked Downapeg—they might just not be able to hang with the Stars. I'm not sure any team does.
