The St. Louis Blues were two seconds away from upsetting the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday night. Two seconds!
Of course, as we know, the Jets staged a rally for the ages with that limited time on the clock to eventually win Game 7 and their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series in double overtime.
We make mention of this because it’s important to understand and examine how and why the Blues – a plucky group for sure, but one that doesn’t match the talent and depth of the Jets – almost ended Winnipeg’s season in upset fashion.
For their part, the Blues were able to push the series to the distance and beyond by throwing the puck to the Jets’ net at every turn, crowding the net front, defending their goal line and hitting everyone in a Winnipeg jersey – many times with violent intent.
Now – as we witnessed – the Jets responded in kind and also used home-ice advantage to eventually outlast St. Louis, but if you’re the Dallas Stars – Wednesday night’s second-round playoff opponent for Winnipeg – how much of the Blues’ game plan will you use yourself to try to potentially find that elusive edge?
After all, as Jets head coach Scott Arniel indicated Tuesday, his club and the Stars are similar in their composition and the way they play, but it’s still a Central Division series and plausible to believe Dallas could see a path to victory based on the St. Louis blueprint.
Meanwhile, after the physicality of their first-round series and the resolve they were forced to show in staring down an early elimination for a third straight year, the Jets must now feel battle-tested and firmly planted for anything Dallas could possibly throw at them.
Conversely, maybe it’s the Jets themselves that use what they successfully had to deal with as part of their strategy to advance past the Stars – leading to an intriguing start to Game 1 between the Central Division’s two top teams.
If so, don’t be surprised if this Jets and Stars series comes down to another Game 7 and the final seconds of it. The final two seconds, in fact!
