‘Confidence in our style of play’

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This article was published 22/04/2025 (199 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Scott Arniel stood at the podium on Tuesday afternoon and finally had a chance to briefly catch his breath.

The Winnipeg Jets head coach was asked to reflect on a whirlwind 48-hour span that saw his club grab a 2-0 lead in its best-of-seven series against the St. Louis Blues — and maybe exorcise a few recent playoff demons in the process.

“Nerve-wracking. Exciting. Honestly, standing on that bench it seems like it’s gone up 20 miles an hour faster than what it was in the regular season,” replied Arniel. “Man, it’s intense.”

It hasn’t been for the faint of heart with plenty of momentum swings, clutch goals, timely saves and an eye-popping 148 combined hits so far. This has been heavy, hair-on-fire hockey.

It’s no wonder both teams essentially took Tuesday off. Only Winnipeg’s healthy scratches hit the ice for an optional skate at Canada Life Centre, while St. Louis flew home and stayed away from the rink entirely. There’s plenty of rest and recovery to be done, and the NHL’s schedule-makers are about to provide an assist.

There’s a two-day gap before Game 3 on Thursday in Missouri, and then another one leading up to Game 4 on Sunday. Should the Blues win at least one of those, Game 5 would also involve an extended hiatus and not occur until next Wednesday back in Winnipeg.

Is that too much down time — two games over an eight-day span — for a Jets team that wants to try and keep the momentum they’ve built going?

“If we’re planning on playing a while, I don’t mind,” Arniel said of his group, which finished first-overall in the regular-season standings.

“Both teams are trying to get back to healthy. I mean, in a sense, just ready to play another game. Because it’s heavy and it’s fast, and there’s a lot of energy being spent. So I’m okay. It is what it is. It gives a lot of our top players an extra day to kind of get set again.”

The Jets will hold a full team skate on Wednesday before getting on the charter.

“Yeah, it’s a second win, but we’re not resting here. We’ve got a long ways to go.”– Jets forward Kyle Connor

There’s an old adage surrounding the Stanley Cup playoffs that you’re never really in trouble until you lose a game on home ice. No doubt the Blues will be hoping that’s the case after falling 5-3 on Saturday night in downtown Winnipeg, then 2-1 on Monday night.

However, the cold hard facts suggest the Jets have put themselves in prime position. Historically, NHL teams that take the first two games in a series have gone on to win 87.7 per cent of the time.

This is just the third time in franchise history the Jets got off to a 2-0 start. The first was in 2018 in the first-round against the Minnesota Wild, with Winnipeg taking that series in five games. The second was in 2021 in the first-round against the Edmonton Oilers, with the Jets sweeping their North Division rivals during the shortened COVID campaign.

On the flip-side, Winnipeg fell into an 0-2 hole in the second-round of the 2021 playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens and never recovered, losing the next two as well to end their season.

If we’re talking Jets 1.0 history, Winnipeg won its only series where they grabbed a 2-0 lead in 1987 against the Calgary Flames, eventually taking that in six games. They lost all four series where they dropped the first two — in 1996 (in six games) and in 1988 (five games) against the Detroit Red Wings, and in 1987 (four games) and 1985 (four games) against the Oilers.

Although the odds are very much in their favour, the Jets won’t be taking anything for granted.

“Yeah, it’s a second win, but we’re not resting here. We’ve got a long ways to go,” Jets forward Kyle Connor said Monday night after scoring the game-winner in the third period for a second straight game.

One trend so far is how effective the Jets have been at really putting the squeeze on St. Louis as the game progresses. Consider this: The Blues have 19 total shots and three goals in the first periods so far. They have 13 shots and one goal in the second periods. And they have seven shots and no goals in the third.

“We know we are capable, we know our game and we know our style and it comes out from being patient.”– Jets forward Cole Perfetti

“Just staying to the script. Not getting outside of ourselves. Just staying in the moment,” defenceman Dylan DeMelo said of how they’ve managed to do that.

“And just confidence in our abilities and our mindset. Confidence in our style of play, and not beating ourselves. Just keep doing what we’re doing. The message has been great each period: just keep doing what we’re doing on the ice.”

The Jets have been the league’s stingiest team now for two straight seasons in terms of goals against, so leaning on that identity in playoffs is pivotal. Defence ultimately wins championships, right?

“We know we are capable, we know our game and we know our style and it comes out from being patient,” said forward Cole Perfetti, who had the primary assist on Connor’s winner Monday.

“We are going to play our game defensively, that has always been our motto: defence first. We will get our offence from our defence. It really frustrates other teams and we can capitalize from there.”

It also helps to have a shutdown centre like captain Adam Lowry, who has gone toe-to-toe with Blues captain Brayden Schenn in terms of line matchups. While Schenn has been a physical force, he has yet to find the scoresheet. Lowry potted an empty-netter Saturday to seal that victory.

“Both Low and Schenn have been bulls. They’ve been absolute bulls. They’re running into each other and they’re running into everybody else on the ice,” said Arniel.

There’s also the continued growth of shutdown defenceman Dylan Samberg, who has killed countless St. Louis chances in his own zone with perfect positioning and an active stick. Samberg’s value to the Jets continues to be shown in many ways.

“Both Low(ry) and Schenn have been bulls. They’ve been absolute bulls. They’re running into each other and they’re running into everybody else on the ice.”– Jets head coach Scott Arniel

“There’s some real skill coming at him. He does a great job,” said Arniel, who also credited the work of Samberg’s partner Neal Pionk and the top pairing of DeMelo and Josh Morrissey for their work so far. Combined that with the third-pairing of Schenn and Logan Stanley bringing a huge physical presence and it’s been a recipe for success, so far.

“It’s far from over,” said Schenn, who has won two Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“Two games, we’re going to enjoy this one tonight, but St. Louis is an extremely tough building to play in too. It’s going to be a great atmosphere and we’re going to have to prepare for the next one.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg