Previewing Dallas vs. Winnipeg as if it were the first round of the playoffs
Let's dig deep for this one ahead of Thursday's bout between two Central rivals.
I talked all about the Dallas Stars on The Hockey PDOcast with Dimitri Filipovic. If you want to know where I plagiarize all my hockey knowledge, follow Dimitri.
Early in the home stretch, it looked like the Colorado Avalanche would be the top team in the Central, and Dallas vs. Winnipeg seemed like destiny. Then they traded for Chris Tanev, and most importantly, Nils Lundkvist played meaningful games. (Obviously) There was also some young forward that got brought up, but the Stars have been on a tear ever since. Now Winnipeg is in their rear view mirror.
At least for now.
I’ve been following Winnipeg closely ever since they brought in Rick Bowness. Sure there’s a petty element of “we warned you Jets fans” running in my veins, but also, I just enjoy the shit out of hockey. I love the talent on ice. Bowness bothers me philosophically because he doesn’t seem to share that same enthusiasm. Why does Nikolaj Ehlers have to be held to different, less amenable standards? Why does a player as gifted as Cole Perfetti have to sit? Of course, Bowness is a professional coach, and each decision is connected to his livelihood. For me it’s just Tuesday.
However, this was the same criticism I and others had in 2020, when the Stars were downright spiraling going into the 2020 playoffs. Then they went to the Finals. Whatever the tangible details are, neither Bowness nor the Jets should ever be underestimated. So let’s look at this match through the prism of a first round playoff matchup.
At a glance, the Jets are absolute savages at 5-on-5. Granted, the strength of their even-strength goal construction comes from goaltending (the purple bar), and chance-generation (blue bar), but like with Florida, that’s certainly one way to make a living for an elite team.
For Dallas, it’s about everything except goaltending, and luckily for them, that trend is starting to change. Of course, this is only even strength. There’s a lot we’re still missing, so let’s dig deeper.
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