There is a simple reason the Dallas Stars will take a 2-1 series lead into Tuesday\u2019s Game 4, and there\u2019s very little controversy in it.<\/p>\n
In the battle of Winnipeg\u2019s best players vs. Dallas\u2019 best players, one skater stands alone. Mikko Rantanen has six points in three games. Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Gabriel Vilardi have six points combined. And now that the Stars have last change on home ice, coach Pete DeBoer is getting Rantanen away from Adam Lowry\u2019s shutdown line and playing him head-to-head with Connor, Scheifele and Vilardi.<\/p>\n
The Stars want a power vs. power matchup. The Jets\u2019 stars should be capable of handling it better than they did on Sunday.<\/p>\n
And they\u2019re going to have their hands full all over again in Game 4, so they\u2019ll need to tighten up in a hurry, lest the Jets go home on the brink of elimination.<\/p>\n
Rantanen dominated Sunday\u2019s head-to-head matchup, scoring the 4-2 goal that put Game 3 out of reach. Winnipeg\u2019s top line fell behind Rantanen on the long three-on-two rush, unable to provide backpressure, and watched him cut across the Jets\u2019 zone with time to burn.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s never too late to come back,\u201d Connor said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to be able to stop them from going east to west the way he got into the zone like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
If any line can drag the Jets back to Winnipeg tied in the series, it\u2019s Connor, Scheifele and Vilardi, but they\u2019ve strayed from the defensive quality that saw each player post career-best two-way numbers this season. In Game 3, Natural Stat Trick credits Rantanen with a 7-1 lead in scoring chances against the Jets trio and 87 percent of expected goals.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s not just that Rantanen is making brilliant plays. The Jets\u2019 top line has slipped into some bad habits trying to create offence at the other end of the rink.<\/p>\n
The Jets top line is flying the zone again, getting caught looking for offence before it\u2019s there. Their low support on breakouts has wavered, keeping them hemmed in their own zone as opposed to moving them toward the attacking zone. Long before Rantanen\u2019s dagger of a 4-2 goal, there were moments where Connor, Scheifele and Vilardi were above the puck in the Jets\u2019 zone before it was saved. In one case, a Neal Pionk giveaway led to a dangerous moment for Rantanen and Roope Hintz with the Jets\u2019 forwards caught at the blue line.<\/p>\n
Rantanen has an advantage on this goal, given Vilardi has just come onto the ice, and he exploits the rest of Winnipeg\u2019s coverage to maximum effect.<\/p>\n
MIKKO RANTANEN CAN\u2019T BE STOPPED \ud83d\ude05<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udcfa: Watch Jets vs. Stars Game 3 on Sportsnet pic.twitter.com\/1GfACUMgtf<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 11, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cA bit of a breakdown by us,\u201d Connor said. \u201cThey scored a couple (goals) off the rush, so we need to be better at that and take a look at that.\u201d<\/p>\n Not one of Scheifele, Connor or Vilardi needs to be Rantanen\u2019s equal. The three of them combined must find a way to keep Winnipeg in the game \u2014 and especially should have less than a minute after the controversial Alex Petrovic goal<\/a>.<\/p>\n So, what comes next?<\/p>\n Looking forward requires looking back. Here\u2019s Connor after Winnipeg\u2019s Game 7 win against St. Louis. He\u2019d been a factor on two Blues goals, losing position on one and giving the puck away on the other.<\/p>\n \u201cHow are you going to respond? How are you going to come back? You\u2019re not just going to sit there and sulk. You have to do anything you can to help the team push forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Connor responded by setting up both of Cole Perfetti\u2019s goals, including the tying Game 7 buzzer-beater. His four-goal, eight-assist performance in Round 1 was instrumental in Winnipeg earning the Round 2 opportunity it has now. But his wraparound goal on Sunday was his first point of the series, and NHL Edge data<\/a> shows he\u2019s spent more time in his own zone than on the attack. (He also astonishingly hasn\u2019t scored a power-play goal since December, although he is picking up assists.)<\/p>\n Kyle Connor doing Kyle Connor things \ud83d\udcaa pic.twitter.com\/AyXpBs5IqL<\/a><\/p>\n