Winnipeg Jets aim to maintain road success as series shifts to St. Louis

The Winnipeg Jets used home ice to their advantage, jumping out to a 2-0 series lead at Canada Life Centre in front of the Winnipeg whiteout. 

Now, the league’s best road team during the regular season will look to maintain that level of play in St. Louis for Game 3. 

The Jets look to maintain their level of play 

The Jets went 26-15-0 on the road during the regular season, giving them the most road wins in the entire NHL. Their defensively sound structure has translated to their games away from home, and Scott Arniel has outlined that as something his team has focused on this season. 

“Well, we try not to change how we play,” Arniel said. “I’d like to think that how we play at home is how we play on the road. There isn’t two different ways to play. We’re pretty consistent about how we go and how we attack the opposition, how we defend. So, I think it’s just as simple as that. We don’t try to change because we’re on the road or because we’re at home.”

That game that the Jets can lean on is their smothering defensive play against the Blues. They’ve held the Blues to just eight high-danger chances in the two games combined, while they have generated 25 of their own. 

One area where Winnipeg will look to improve is on their penalty kill. They killed off three straight opportunities to end Game 2, but with St. Louis having scored just one even-strength goal in the series, an effective penalty kill would add to an already impressive defensive stretch from the Jets. 

Matchups flip in St. Louis’ favour

One thing that does change about the Jets’ approach on the road is their ability to dictate the matchups. 

Early in Game 3, we will see which matchups Blues’ Head Coach Jim Montgomery is hoping to control. In Winnipeg, Mark Scheifele’s line was matched up with Robert Thomas’ line, and Adam Lowry was up against Brayden Schenn’s line. 

No matter what the Blues opt for, Arniel is confident in his depth getting by in tough minutes. 

“I’m comfortable with whoever’s out on the ice against those guys,” Arniel said.  “They’ve done it all year, and knowing that they have to do it again.”

Expect heavy minutes for Josh Morrissey and Dylan Samberg, who are seemingly matchup-proof and provide an incredible sense of stability to the Jets’ defence core.

From Winnipeg’s perspective, it sure helps that Dylan Samberg has flat-out dominated his minutes so far. In 37:07 five-on-five minutes through two games, the Jets are controlling the share of shots on goal (16-8), scoring chances (17-5), high-danger chances (9-2), and expected goals percentage (73.94%). 

Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)

Scott Arniel admitted that Samberg was one of Winnipeg’s more nervous players in Game 1. In Game 2, he settled in and was a menace at the blueline, denying entry on the Blues several times and making it extremely difficult for St. Louis to generate offence with him on the ice. 

If in Game 3, Morrissey-DeMelo can remain steady, Samberg-Pionk continue their stellar play, and Stanley-Schenn bring the physical element they brought in Game 2, the Jets should be in good shape to handle whatever matchup St. Louis throws at them. 

Notes to watch for in Games 3 & 4

• Mark Scheifele has five points (2G, 3A) through two games and has elevated his game at both ends of the rink. Can Scheifele and Connor keep up their elite play on the road? 
• Connor Hellebuyck looked elite in Game 2, stopping 21/22 and making a few big saves early. As the Blues bring a desperate style of play in their home building, Hellebuyck will likely be asked to bail the Jets out of tougher moments. 
• Josh Morrissey has been good through two games, but has yet to put forward a “wow” moment. His metrics are mostly break-even. Does he take over one of the next two games on the road while playing big minutes? 
• The fourth line of Gustafsson – Barron – Anderson-Dolan has been strong, and without last change, they’ll most certainly have a few shifts against the Blues’ top-end talent. It’ll be interesting to monitor how that group does in tougher matchups. 
• Cole Perfetti seems to be managing the physicality of this series well. Scott Arniel told me this on Perfetti on Wednesday: “Yeah, he’s been great… These types of games, the hits sometimes you can anticipate, it’s those battles in the corners and around the net front. That’s for me where Cole, throughout the whole season, he’s done a really good job of getting himself into the piles and coming out with pucks. The game-winning goal the other night, he’s the one that pulled it out of the pile. Sent it back to Morrissey, and it kind of reset itself back behind the net. That’s him doing those little things that I ask everyone else to do, too.” Does Cole Perfetti score his first career playoff goal on the road? 
• Gabriel Vilardi skated in a non-contact jersey on Wednesday. While he is nearing a return, he won’t play in Game 3, but he made the trip with the team and remains an option for Game 4 on Sunday provided he changes colours of his jersey soon. 
• Stay tuned to Illegalcurve.com for the latest Jets’ lineup news heading into tonight’s game, and tune into the post-game show right after the final buzzer.