Jets need to step up, shake off ghosts ahead of Game 7

One winner-take-all game to define a series.

For these Winnipeg Jets, it can be as simple as that.

But when it comes to the Jets, it’s rarely simple or straightforward.

When you consider the complexities that have followed this franchise around since the magic carpet ride of 2018 to the Western Conference final, a victory on Sunday night in Game 7 against the St. Louis Blues isn’t going to be enough to wash away all of the painful memories that have occurred.

But that’s not a burden this edition of the Jets needs to concern themselves with.

For a group that has prided itself on having a singular focus ever since showing up at training camp, the blinders must be on completely.

There can be no concerns about a 5-2 defeat in Game 6 at Enterprise Center, just like there can be no thoughts or worries about first-round exits to the Colorado Avalanche in 2024 or the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023.

Of course there are lessons to be learned from each of those experiences both past and present, but the Jets will do their review and then shift focus to the one-game showdown with those plucky Blues — yes, those same Blues that started this cycle of misery back in the playoffs in 2019 when Winnipeg was sent packing in six games.

Enough about those playoff ghosts, at least for the time being.

This is about the present, a present that provides the Jets with a glorious opportunity to win a game and advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2021 when they swept the Edmonton Oilers.

As rough as things went for the Jets in Missouri — where the Blues have now won 15 consecutive games and piled up 17 goals in three games this series alone — they’ve been rock-solid on home ice.

“We know what we’re capable of. We know what kind of team we are,” said Jets forward Cole Perfetti. “We know when we play a 60-minute game, we’re dominant. It’s win or go home next game. So we know what we have to do and we’re going to have that same mindset that we did going into Game 5.”

Going into the series, we heard Jets’ players and head coach Scott Arniel talk about the importance of having last change and they’ve taken advantage of it on three separate occasions already at Canada Life Centre.

Can they make it a fourth?

They’ve got no choice, at least not if they don’t want to face another long and arduous off-season of disappointment and questions.

“For us, when we play close to complete games, we’re a tough team to beat,” Arniel told reporters in St. Louis at the podium after Game 6. “We’ve done it three times in this series and we’re going to have to do it four.”

There will be ample time to sift through the bigger-picture questions, no matter how things turn out on Sunday night.

On the smaller scale, the Jets must quickly answer if it will be Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde who shows up for the deciding game?

This is a group that can’t afford the lapses which were so prevalent in those three road games, where a series of self-inflicted wounds caused a combination of unravelling and implosion — words that rarely equate to post-season success.

Both of those things are uncharacteristic for a team that captured the Presidents’ Trophy as the best team in the regular season and the William Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals in the NHL for a second consecutive campaign.

There have been signs of that group at various points in this highly-competitive, highly-entertaining and hard-hitting series with a Central Division rival.

Long stretches of stifling defensive play have given way to poor puck management and defensive-zone lapses.

Somehow, the NHLs most consistent team for 82 games has been all over the map over the course of the past six games.

This isn’t about finger-pointing or the blame game, but there are some critical areas the Jets are going to need to excel at in order for them to get a shot at either the Dallas Stars or the Colorado Avalanche, depending on who wins the first Game 7 of these playoffs.

At the top of that list is a return to form for Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who got the hook for a third time in six games after avoiding being pulled for multiple seasons.

Hellebuyck doesn’t need to put on that Superman cape or put the team on his back and carry them through.

What Hellebuyck does need to do is to give his team a chance to win.

He needs to battle through screens and make the routine saves when those shots come his way.

He’s now made a pair of paddle saves that will be shown on highlight reels to come — one on Oskar Sundqvist in Game 5 and another on Jimmy Snuggerud in Game 6 before the four goals in just over five-minute onslaught in the second period that pushed this series to the limit.

Arniel was quick to defend his goalie in his post-season media availability and there’s no doubt the vote of confidence he offered comes right from the heart.

Hellebuyck has been the backbone of this team for years and the ugly stat line (23 goals allowed, a 4.42 goals-against average and .815 save percentage) won’t mean a thing if he helps the Jets move on.

Just as Hellebuyck needs to find another level, the Jets will need a massive effort from the entire group.

It will need to be a passenger-free zone and some of the Jets’ game-breakers need to deliver in the clutch.

With top centre Mark Scheifele likely out of Game 7 with an undisclosed injury, top scorer Kyle Connor needs another top-notch effort.

In three prior home games, all he’s done is deliver a pair of game-winning goals (in Games 1 and 2) while setting up Vladislav Namestnikov’s GWG in Game 5 and notching seven of his nine points this series.

What will Connor do for an encore?

What can Nikolaj Ehlers do in his second game back from injury — or Gabe Vilardi in his third?

The secondary scoring has increased and the Jets picked a good time to get their special teams on track.

Morgan Barron has found another level and while a coach’s challenge for offside wiped out his first Stanley Cup playoff goal, it doesn’t take away from the brilliant play he made and finish he provided to beat Jordan Binnington high to the blocker side on a shot that would have tied the game.

Whether you’re a scorer, a grinder or fit somewhere in between, Arniel is asking for more from everyone in Game 7.

On the back end, the Jets need a determined effort and they’re likely going to need a signature moment from Josh Morrissey as well.

Morrissey has taken a physical pounding in this series and he’s playing extremely hard, but the Blues have limited him to just three assists (with two coming in a 5-3 win in Game 1 and one coming in Game 6 on Perfetti’s power-play maker) so far.

Morrissey has game-changing ability, thanks to his combination of smooth skating and offensive instincts while also serving as a high-end defender.

Morrissey’s emotional response at the conclusion of the Game 5 loss to the Avalanche seems prescient right now, even after being uttered just over one year ago.

“It feels like a missed opportunity,” Morrissey said at the time. “But, the only way that there is any good from this is that we learn from it and we actually look at how we can improve as individuals and as a group. Because, they brought that Stanley Cup-winning class to this series, and we didn’t return it for three or four of those games.

“We have levels that we need to find this off-season. I hope it stings for all of us into the summer and we use it as motivation.”

The time to find those levels is now.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @WiebesWorld