Jets in must-win mode after dropping 3-1 decision to Stars in Game 4
Hands in his pant pockets, head facing down, Chipman occasionally glanced up at the television monitor in the hallway.
He watched as his team pressed late but couldn't cut the deficit, eventually dropping a 3-1 decision to Dallas in a Game 4 loss that left the Jets in must-win mode for this second-round NHL playoff series.
Chipman folded his arms and looked away in the dying seconds. He didn't need to look up again. The game-ending horn that blared throughout American Airlines Center and the roar from the sellout crowd said it all.
Chipman moved to the side as the dejected players made their way into the room, a frustrated Josh Morrissey punching the door on his way through.
Story continues below advertisement
The Presidents' Trophy winners have been unable to win on the road in these playoffs and now they're on the brink of elimination. The result, with Mikael Granlund scoring all three goals for the Stars, left Jets coach Scott Arniel with a clear message for his players.
'Don't lose your last game,' he said. 'Real simple.'
1:24
Jets gameday behind the scenes with 680 CJOB
Game 5 goes Thursday at Canada Life Centre, a venue that will be a welcome sight for a Winnipeg side that has lost nine straight road playoff games and all five this post-season.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
The Jets aren't getting breaks and the Stars have taken advantage of their opportunities. Jake Oettinger has outplayed Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck in net and Dallas is playing with confidence.
The free-flowing skating, crisp puck movement and offensive potency that helped the Jets finish first in the overall standings have been minimized due to more frequent broken plays and general scuffling.
Story continues below advertisement
Something just feels a little off and when Winnipeg presses to find another gear, it sometimes backfires.
There are no easy answers for a team that hasn't won a road playoff game since the 2023 playoff opener in Las Vegas.
'If I had the answer to why, we would have got one at some point,' Ehlers said. 'I think this (season) we've been really good on the road, and now we need to win at home and find a way here and hopefully make it to Game 6.
'So we need to find a way, simple as that.'
Arniel experimented for Game 4 by juggling his lines with Mark Scheifele on the top unit with wingers Kyle Connor and Alex Iafallo.
The Stars also changed things up as star blueliner Miro Heiskanen returned after an absence of over three months due to knee surgery.
2:12
Jets fans across Manitoba make playoff melodies
A good start by Winnipeg was negated by an undisciplined penalty from Dylan DeMelo. He was called for holding the stick and Granlund tallied on the power play with a wrist shot that beat Hellebuyck on the glove side.
Story continues below advertisement
After Ehlers scored early in the second period, Granlund restored the Dallas lead by shooting on a 2-on-1 break. He notched his first career hat trick with a one-timer midway through the third.
'Granny led the way,' said Stars coach Pete DeBoer.
Heiskanen, meanwhile, played almost 15 minutes and set up Granlund's final goal — a power-play marker — with a crisp pass from the point.
'He's worked his butt off,' Oettinger said of Heiskanen. 'Just such a big part of this team. The fact that we get to add a guy like that halfway through the post-season run is incredible.'
Sounds like a player who's preparing to play two more rounds. If Oettinger plays like he did Tuesday, he very well might.
Oettinger made 31 stops, including a highlight-reel save on Kyle Connor in the second period and a short-handed breakaway stop on the Winnipeg forward in the third.
'There were a couple of guys that had some really good looks,' Arniel said. 'Just got to find a way to bury those.'
Hellebuyck, a Vezina Trophy and Hart Trophy nominee, has started all five road losses this spring. He has a 5.84 goals-against average and .793 save percentage away from home in the playoffs.
Story continues below advertisement
'I leave it all out there every night, I'm doing my best,' Hellebuyck said in a rare post-game media availability for the netminder. 'Sometimes it's a heartbreak, but all it takes is one little change, one little bounce and things can start going our way.'
The Jets led the NHL with 26 road wins this past season and topped the Western Conference in road points percentage.
They won't be back on the road this spring without a victory at home in Game 5.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
20 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Surprise! There's been quite a bit of parity in the race for baseball's best record
The 2025 regular season was supposed to be about Dodger dominance. Instead, the race for baseball's best record has turned into a free for all. If there were any concerns about a Los Angeles behemoth running roughshod over the sport, that hasn't materialized so far. In fact, eight different teams have spent the past three months passing baseball's best record around like a hot potato. The race for the top record in the major leagues is in many ways symbolic. Home field advantage in the postseason isn't quite the prize it is in the NFL or NBA, and there's no Presidents' Trophy given for regular-season excellence like in the NHL. But the number of teams that have taken a turn at the top is noteworthy. Since May 1, the Dodgers, Tigers, Padres, Mets, Phillies, Cubs, Brewers and Blue Jays have all held the best record at some point. Five of those teams have held the top spot in an even more recent span — since July 1. Since the American League and National League began expanding significantly in 1961, this is only the fifth time at least eight teams have held (or tied for) the best record in baseball through games of May 1 or later, according to Sportrader. One of those seasons was 2020, when the whole 60-game schedule was after that date. The others were 1963 (eight teams), 1982 (eight) and 2021 (nine). The largest lead any team has been able to open on the rest of the majors — all season — is when Detroit was three games up for a few days shortly before the All-Star break. Here are the teams (or pairs of teams) that have led the major league standings at the end of each day since the start of May. May 1-7: Dodgers May 8-9: Dodgers and Tigers May 10: Padres May 11-12: Dodgers May 13: Mets and Tigers May 14: Tigers May 15: Dodgers and Tigers May 16-22: Tigers May 23-27: Phillies May 28-June 10: Tigers June 11-12: Mets June 13-24: Tigers June 25-26: Dodgers and Tigers June 27: Dodgers June 28-30: Dodgers and Tigers July 1-4: Dodgers July 5: Dodgers and Tigers July 6-18: Tigers July 19: Cubs July 20: Tigers July 21: Brewers July 22: Brewers and Cubs July 23-24: Brewers July 25-27: Blue Jays July 28-Aug. 3: Brewers Trivia time Seven of baseball's current franchises have never finished with game's best regular-season record. Who are they? LA's story For the first few weeks of the season, it looked like the Dodgers might indeed be on their way to well over 100 wins. The defending champs — who had added pitchers Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki in the offseason — won their first eight games, but since then Los Angeles has looked mortal. In early June, the Dodgers had 14 pitchers on the injured list, and although they're in first place in their division, their current winning percentage of .580 would be their worst since 2018 if that's where they finish the season. Line of the week Pittsburgh's Liover Peguero hit three home runs Saturday in an 8-5 loss to Colorado. It was a tough defeat to swallow for the Pirates, who actually gave ace Paul Skenes some run support, only for him to allow four runs in five-plus innings. Comeback of the week On the topic of tough losses to swallow, the Pirates also fell to the Rockies on Friday night — after scoring nine runs in the top of the first. Pittsburgh led 16-10 before allowing two in the eighth and five in the bottom of the ninth. Brenton Doyle hit a two-run homer to win it 17-16 for Colorado, which had a win probability of 0.5% in the eighth according to Baseball Savant. The Rockies are the only team this season to win after falling nine runs behind, and they continue to make progress in their effort to avoid matching or breaking the modern record for losses set by the Chicago White Sox last year. Colorado went 3-3 this week and is now 30-81 on the season. The White Sox went 41-121 Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Trivia answer Unsurprisingly, the seven are among the majors' younger franchises — the Rays, Diamondbacks, Marlins, Rockies, Blue Jays, Padres and Rangers. Of the teams that have finished with the best record in baseball, the one with the longest current drought is the Twins, who last did so in 1965. ___ AP MLB:
Global News
2 days ago
- Global News
Jays reinstate all-star catcher Kirk from IL
See more sharing options Send this page to someone via email Share this item on Twitter Share this item via WhatsApp Share this item on Facebook TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays have reinstated all-star catcher Alejandro Kirk from the seven-day injured list. He is also active for Sunday's series finale against the Kansas City Royals. In other moves, Toronto optioned infielder Leo Jimenez to Triple-A Buffalo. Kirk was put on IL last Sunday due to a concussion. Story continues below advertisement The 26-year-old was pulled in the fourth inning of the Blue Jays' 6-1 win over the Detroit Tigers on July 26 after he took a foul tip off his face mask. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy He was replaced by Tyler Heineman shortly after. Kirk has a batting average of .304 to go along with seven home runs and 47 runs batted in in 88 games this season. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 3, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Rookie tight end Mason Taylor, son of Hall of Fame pass rusher, shining at Jets camp
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Mason Taylor remembers running around the fields as a wide-eyed kid at New York Jets training camp, visiting his famous father and rooting him on at games. He's back, 15 years later. And now, it's his turn. The rookie tight end, son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Jason Taylor, has been one of the standout performers through the Jets' first nine camp practices. Taylor, a second-round pick out of LSU, is making plays and impressing his coaches and teammates. 'Mason, he doesn't talk a lot, he does work a lot, though,' quarterback Justin Fields said. 'From the moment he got here, he's been working, his head down working. He doesn't make really any mental mistakes, at least from what I've seen. He's a great route runner, he's smooth, has natural hands, so he's been great so far.' The 21-year-old Taylor, whose uncle is Hall of Famer Zach Thomas, received a text from his father the night before camp opened, offering him some sound advice. 'Really just stay where your feet are,' Taylor recalled. 'I mean, we always say that in our family — day by day, you know, attack the day, get better every single day and really just be where your feet are. Don't look into the future, don't look into the past and just take advantage of every moment you get.' Jason Taylor would certainly know all about that. Recognized as one of the NFL's greatest pass rushers with 139 1/2 sacks, the elder Taylor made a name for himself during 11 outstanding seasons playing for Miami and then one in Washington before joining Rex Ryan's Jets in 2010. New York was one of the league's best teams that season, reaching the AFC championship game — one win away from the Super Bowl. The Jets' kicker was Nick Folk, who just re-signed with the team — and now has the distinction of having been teammates with both Jason and Mason Taylor. 'It's a crazy, crazy world,' Mason Taylor said with a big smile. 'I mean, it's crazy to think about and now that he's on my team, it's a blessing, for sure.' Taylor is in position to have a major role on the Jets' offense as a rookie. He was listed Sunday on the team's first unofficial depth chart as a backup to Jeremy Ruckert, but the 6-foot-5, 251-pound Taylor is expected to see his fair share of snaps — especially if he continues with his impressive summer. 'The receiving skills, listen, that doesn't surprise me, I know he can do that,' coach Aaron Glenn said. 'His blocking, I know he can block, but I didn't think it was going to be this good. So, I'm excited to see how he matures when it comes to camp on how we want to do things as far as that is concerned.' In three seasons at LSU, Taylor had 129 catches for 1,308 yards and six TDs, establishing himself as the most productive tight end in school history and one of the top players at his position in the country. The Jets parted ways this winter with Tyler Conklin, their top pass-catching tight end, by allowing him to leave in free agency. So, New York was in need of a complement to wide receiver Garrett Wilson and provide Fields another reliable outlet in the passing game. New general manager Darren Mougey jumped on the chance to bring in Taylor, who has made that selection look smart. 'I think it's been pretty good,' Taylor said of his progress. 'Things have been flying around in the installs and everything like that, but I think I've kind of grasped onto it pretty quickly. And with the help of my teammates and coaches, I've been getting on the playbook pretty fast.' Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Taylor acknowledged that the little details of the offense — how many steps to take in a route, where you're supposed to be in position on a given play — have been the biggest things to which he has had to adapt. He has also put extra emphasis on his blocking, working on his hand placement and pad level as he aims to be an all-around tight end in the NFL. 'I see growth and development out of Mason,' offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand said. 'He's on the path to becoming what we expected and hoped he could be. And he's done a really nice job this camp in the pass game and in the run game as well. So, again, daily improvement by him, and we're excited to see where that continues to go.' ___ AP NFL:
