First Shift 🏒
The Stars have had plenty of challenges in the playoffs, not the least of which was the latest stretch of losing Game 1 of a series.
Before Wednesday, Dallas had lost Game 1 eight straight times dating back to the 2022 playoffs. Now, the Stars came back to win Game 2 six different times, so they definitely embraced the challenge. Now, after winning Game 1 by a score of 3-2 on Wednesday against Winnipeg, they have to understand a new challenge.
“It’s something we’re not really familiar with, winning game 1,” forward Jason Robertson said. “Since I’ve been here, we’ve never had that mentality going into Game 2. We’re up a game and we have to take control because we know there’s going to be pushback. We’re normally the team pushing back and trying to even the series.”
That’s certainly a nice problem to have. The Stars after getting up 2-1 in the First Round against Colorado saw the Avalanche push back hard and lost Game 4, 4-0, so they do have to tread carefully.
“It is a long time coming,” said Stars coach Pete DeBoer. “I think it was important for us to answer that question and now hopefully that’s put to bed and we can move forward. In the playoffs your desperation level always goes up after you lose a game, so they’re not going to want to lose two at home, so their desperation level is going to go up and we have to make sure ours is comparable.”
Jets coach Scott Arniel said he didn’t like his team’s energy level in Game 1. Winnipeg scored in the final two seconds to tie Game 7 of the First Round and then beat St. Louis in overtime, and there may have been some hangover from that game.
“I thought our detail, whether that was on faceoff execution, when we won draws, whether that was tape-to-tape passing, just execution – there was a lot of sloppiness to that game,” Arniel said. “That did not feel like a playoff game, Game 1 in Round 2. That felt like Game 45 in the middle of December. Obviously, we know the high that we're on coming off that St. Louis game, but man, this is the playoffs. That's a game that no matter how you start the game or however you get into the game it's one of those ones that there's a way we have to play as a group and that's not how we played tonight.”
Jets forward Nino Niederreiter said his team has to bounce back and be better.
“We have to look at what we did wrong and know we have to learn from it and the next game is going to be very crucial for us,” Niederreiter said.
And that’s what Dallas has to be prepared for. If the Stars can win Game 2, they will be in a great place with three of the following five contests in Texas.
“It’s a big mindset in our room, we have a lot of veterans in here who have done it over five years ago, so they’re going to lead us, coaches are going to prepare us, because we have an opportunity here to get both,” Robertson said of winning two games on the road. “We’re going to expect their best in Game 2, and it’s a hard building to win in. To win two, it’s going to take all of us and a big performance.”
