The message is simple for the Winnipeg Jets.
If they hope to stay alive in their Western Conference second-round series against the Dallas Stars, they need to score more goals.
The Stars own a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series heading into Game 5 on Thursday night in Winnipeg.
After splitting the first two games at home, the Jets lost Games 3 and 4 in Dallas, scoring a total of three goals.
The Jets and Stars each averaged 3.35 goals per game during the regular season, which was tied for third in the NHL.
Winnipeg had 32 shots on goal in Game 4 on Tuesday, another 20 that were off target and 18 more that were blocked, but only one attempt made it past Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger and into the net in the 3-1 loss.
“If we can’t find more than one goal, we’re not going to win hockey games, especially against this hockey team,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “You put up 70 attempts, you’ve got to get rewarded, but that means you’ve got to work a little harder if it’s not going in.”
Arniel said the Jets can drive to the net harder, be quicker to rebounds and screen Oettinger’s line of sight more often.
“We’ve done it in the past,” he said. “We’ve got to find a way to do it next game.”
The Jets are also 1-for-16 on the power play in the series (6.25 percent) after finishing No. 1 in the NHL during the regular season (28.9 percent), one reason they finished with the best record in the league.
Nikolaj Ehlers, who scored the lone goal for Winnipeg in Tuesday’s loss, said the Jets just need to play with more vigor.
“(The Stars) are hard on the puck when they get into battles and we need to be harder and get those pucks out,” he said. “That’s where we’ve been able to create a lot of chances throughout the regular season.”
Dallas is back to 100 percent after top defenseman Miro Heiskanen returned on Tuesday from a knee injury that had kept him out since Jan. 28.
“We feel like when we have everyone, we’re going to be a tough out,” Oettinger said. “We got all our guys back healthy and different guys are stepping up every night. We feel like if we play the right way and focus on our net first, we’re going to be tough to beat.”
The Stars also did not have their leading goal scorer from the regular season, Jason Robertson, in the first-round series against the Colorado Avalanche, but he returned for Game 1 against Winnipeg.
“(Game 4) was the first night we’ve actually had our full team together, and everyone’s still not 100 percent, but a nice feeling to have,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “I hope if we can keep everybody in a healthy place, we can keep this going for a little bit.”
Mikko Rantanen had a hat trick for the Stars in the 3-2 win in Game 1, and Mikael Granlund did the same for Dallas in Game 4.
Both players were acquired in midseason trades.
“It’s great to have that lineup,” DeBoer said. “I mean, just to write that lineup on your board, on your lineup card, to have those options for the first time since January. And really, for the first time ever, because we hadn’t made those trades yet.”
–Field Level Media
