The Winnipeg Jets are in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs thanks to a miraculous comeback in Game 7 in the previous round against the St. Louis Blues in which they scored twice in the final two minutes of regulation (including the tying marker with 2.2 seconds left) and won in double overtime.
They’re now matched up against the Dallas Stars, and they found out first hand just how deadly the newest star for the Stars can be.
Mikko Rantanen scored his second-consecutive natural hat trick, just like he did in Dallas’ Game 7 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday; he and the Stars ultimately won by a 3-2 final score and now lead the series 1-0.
Jets Fans Remain Confident Despite Game 1 Loss to Stars
Despite the disappointing setback, fans of the Jets didn’t appear overly worried.
This fan stated, “Mikko is the only reason why Dallas won tonight. Winnipeg was the better team imo tonight.”
Another fan is already looking forward to a potential win in Game 2, saying, “despite the loss I still feel very good about the game tonight, plenty to take away from it. Jets played very well and good enough to win just came up a little short. As long as we win game 2 on Friday we’ll be fine. Gotta work on those special teams though it cost us tonight.”
This Jets fan kept in the optimistic theme, saying, “just couldn’t capitalize on that PP….but they certainly had their chances. Next game for the W!!”
One Jets fan didn’t appear overly impressed by Rantanen’s performance, saying, “Yeah ok, cause of Mikko Rantanen, without him Dallas would not go far. The former Colorado Avs player. Big deal.”
Another optimistic fan can’t wait for Game 2, saying, “Thankfully there’s a game 2 and hopefully a faster start and we let the power of home ice flow through us once more (It’s easier than immediately spiraling into panic already lol)”
Jets forward Mark Scheifele Returned to Action
The Jets welcomed forward Mark Scheifele back to the lineup after he’d missed the last two games against the Blues thanks to an injury.
He scored late in the second period to cut the Dallas lead to 3-2, but it’s as close as the Jets would get for the night.
“I thought we still had some good chances,” said Scheifele. “We still have some good looks, obviously, some things that we can do better, execution level wise. We had a pretty good power play all year. And we just got to put one in the net.”
Game 2 between the Stars and Jets will be played on Friday evening.