Stars' confident, consistent attack provides advantage against Jets in Western 2nd Round

The Coaches Room is a regular feature throughout the 2024-25 season by former NHL coaches and assistants who turn their critical gaze to the game and explain it through the lens of a teacher.

In this edition, former Buffalo Sabres coach Don Granato writes about the Western Conference Second Round. The Dallas Stars lead the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in the best-of-7 series entering Game 4 at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC).

The Stars got to their game quickly in this series, and it feels as though the Jets still are fighting to find their rhythm. To this point in the series, it looks to me like the Stars have been more comfortable in chaos.

Are the Jets a bit tighter than their competitors right now? Despite goals being even at eight through three games, it does appear to me the Jets are a bit more anxious defensively.

Has Mikko Rantanen's hot hand provided the Stars with a bit more confidence and mojo to this point? Or has a hot hand like Rantanen's forced the opposition into overthinking things defensively? It's probably a bit of both.

The Stars attack with confidence, but it does appear the Jets have been a bit more anxious than usual. Good players and good teams force you to work defensively. Great players often get you to second-guess just about everything you do in defensive situations. Among the little things I notice: The Jets might over-skate coverage on the backcheck, trying too hard.

Has Dallas had an advantage early in the series because of their first-round matchup? The Stars played the Colorado Avalanche, a high-tempo, up-and-down team that's similar in fashion to the Jets.

Is Dallas' edge past playoff success? The Stars made it to the Western Conference Final each of the past two years, while the Jets lost in five games in the first round each of the past two years. I don't want to say that's it, because we don't know. But this is the intrigue of the playoffs. Is that coming into play?

It's impressive how the Stars have performed without Miro Heiskanen, their No. 1 defenseman, who hasn’t played since Jan. 28 because of a knee injury. The top teams can handle injuries because of their depth in skill and experience. The players have enough knowledge to know what's expected of them and how to get the job done. The deeper teams enjoy the benefit of that, and I think that's what you're seeing with Dallas. There are enough skilled or experienced guys to pick up the slack for a loss of somebody like Heiskanen.

When you look at the Jets' 0-4 record on the road during these playoffs, you've got to think matchups really matter. And I can tell you from being behind the bench, they do. They really, really do matter. In playoff series, obviously it's even more impactful. For example, the Stars were able to get Rantanen away from Jets center Adam Lowry when they had the last change at home in Game 3.

I think this is something that Winnipeg can resolve. It's not a lack of effort by any means. It's not a lack of focus. It's just, for whatever reason, the Jets have been a little bit tighter in these situations. Obviously playing from behind, they're a little more focused on adjustments and tweaking things compared to the team that's ahead in a series. And Connor Hellebuyck, as long as he's healthy, is still a Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender. While he might have fallen out of rhythm a bit, he can get back in it, as he did in the Jets' win in Game 7 of the first round against the St. Louis Blues.

The Jets are down a game. So what? There were times in the St. Louis series where they didn't look good. So what? You've just got to win the series, and the first round was amazing for them in that regard. They deserve credit, because they were good enough to compensate for a lot of adverse things that happened in Round 1 and win it in the end.

That's a heck of a team. That's a talented, committed team that worked hard during the regular season and trained hard. You look at all these little, what you could call hiccups, so far in the first three games, and they're still obviously very much right in the series. When you stay that close, a bounce or two either way can be the difference. The rest of the way is very intriguing.