Connor Hellebuyck, Jets shut out Stars in Game 2 to even series: Takeaways

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WINNIPEG — Connor Hellebuyck’s best game of the playoffs has equalized Round 2. Hellebuyck’s 22-save shutout, his first playoff shutout in four years, sends the series back to Dallas tied 1-1.

Winnipeg also got goals from Gabriel Vilardi, Nikolaj Ehlers (2) and Adam Lowry to earn the 4-0 win.

Hellebuyck’s playoff performance has been much maligned. He’d given up 26 goals under heavy duress against the St. Louis Blues and he was pulled from three straight road games, creating a crisis of confidence, and was unable to keep Mikko Rantanen off the board in Game 1.

Hellebuyck responded with a vintage performance in Game 2.

The Jets got Vilardi’s power-play goal three and a half minutes into the game and Ehlers’ fortunate bounce three and a half minutes after that. They responded with a casual second period, creating several rush chances for the Stars that could have swung the game.

What they got instead was a Hellebuyck highlight reel.

Hellebuyck made nine of his 22 saves in the second period — none of them more spectacular than this glove save on Evgenii Dadonov.

OH MY CONNOR HELLEBUYCK pic.twitter.com/JQiM1Pipgd

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 10, 2025

The play before the rush was a Kyle Connor backhand pass into a seam that the Stars had picked off. Winnipeg fed the Stars’ transition multiple times in the second — Wyatt Johnston hit the post with a backhand deke that began with Scheifele giving the puck away on a rush of his own.

In the end, it was only a pretense for Canada Life Centre to chant “MVP!” at their starting goaltender.

“This crowd believes in me, this team believes in me, as much as I believe in myself,” Hellebuyck said before Round 2. “That’s dangerous. That’s when things get going and things get rolling.”

Hellebuyck was a weapon in Game 2.

Jets’ top PP unit reunited, shines early

Vilardi’s power-play goal was the product of two days’ worth of Jets homework. Frustrated by their 0-for-4 performance in Game 1 — but encouraged by some of their chances, the Jets identified the low ice they wanted to exploit as a response to the Stars’ aggressive penalty kill.

Vilardi’s goal was partly a broken play, but partly a case of Winnipeg’s adjustments going exactly the way it had hoped. The Jets drew Dallas away from the middle of the ice multiple times by working the puck inside the slot and then back out to the flanks, daring the Stars’ aggressive PK to pressure Josh Morrissey at the top of the zone.

On the decisive play, Mark Scheifele moved it to Morrissey at the top and Morrissey found Nikolaj Ehlers in the middle with just a little bit of time. Ehlers spotted Vilardi, attempted a pass that hit Cody Ceci, and fired a scrambled shot at Jake Oettinger with the remains. Vilardi was all alone to clean up the rebound because three Stars skaters were above the hash marks — just as the Jets had drawn it up.

Gabriel Vilardi has his first of the 2025 #StanleyCup Playoffs 🫡 pic.twitter.com/23lMms6xdP

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 10, 2025

“There’s some stuff there that we’re looking to expose,” Arniel had said.

It was the first time the Jets’ top unit had all been healthy since Vilardi’s injury on March 23rd and it got Winnipeg off to an ideal start.

Another stumbling start for Stars

The Stars finally snapped their baffling streak of eight consecutive Game 1 losses on Wednesday, but slow starts continue to plague them in another way.

Dallas has just three first-period goals in nine playoff games after coming up empty again in the opening stanza Friday night. Only the Montreal Canadiens have fewer first-period goals in these playoffs, and they played just five games. It gets better from there, as Dallas is tied with Los Angeles for a postseason-leading 11 goals in the second period. But the Stars have given up the first goal in eight of their nine playoff games, which isn’t generally a recipe for success.

Josh Morrissey makes big impact in return

Josh Morrissey’s return to the Jets lineup gave Winnipeg its strongest roster of the playoffs, keyed Vilardi’s power-play goal, and led to several stalwart defensive plays — including the clear from the crease that helped get the puck to safety after Hellebuyck’s highlight reel save on Dadonov.

The playoffs are still waiting for their vintage Morrissey moment, but he was leading rush attacks and played the most minutes of all Jets skaters in Game 2. He moved well, attacking seams and making incisive passes, creating near misses in addition to generating his power-play assist.

The series was always going to be defined by which team could get its star players back — and playing at the highest level. Mark Scheifele and Jason Robertson returned for Game 1, with Scheifele getting on the scoreboard, but Morrissey’s return — and Miro Heiskanen’s continued absence — gave the Jets an advantage in Game 2.

Stars coach Pete DeBoer spoke in praise of Heiskanen before the game but said the Stars would need to get the job done without him.

“You’re taking one of your best defensemen in the world out of your lineup — and when I say in the world, he may be in the top five defensively. That doesn’t even take into account the puck possession in the time we have the puck when he’s on ice,” DeBoer said.

(Photo: Cameron Bartlett / Getty Images)

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