Three Thoughts - The Mother's Day Moose
Mikko continues his tear in Game 3, Wyatt reminds his worth, and Alexander Petrovic?
That was exactly what we needed to see from Dallas. Not that dissimilar from the Colorado series, mind you, but the sequencing was slightly different.
Versus the Avalanche in Round 1, the Stars went on the road and got the first one (Game 3) and then had a chance to go for the jugular only to get rolled in the next one (Game 4). Upon that humbling, they then remounted the horses and put on an emphatic multi-goal win at home two days later to gain some control in the series (Game 5).
Here in Round 2, it was the uncommon position of the team without the home ice advantage, so everything was moved up. Win the road opener and sort of accomplish the mission of getting home ice away from the Jets in Game 1, then had a chance to gain full control only to squander by laying an egg in Game 2. However, two days later and back on home ice, the team was able to respond to being called out with a great answer performance at home two days later to gain a little control in the series in Game 3.
Yes, it is still early and yes, it can all go up in smoke if you drop Game 4 and cede home ice back to Winnipeg, but this is the performance that was badly needed on Sunday in a day game on Mother’s Day.
The Stars needed to win a lot of the smaller battles down the line in this one and for the most part they came through as they took out Winnipeg, 5-2, in Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals in Dallas on Sunday. It gives them a two-games-to-one advantage as we wait for Game 4 on Tuesday Night at 7pm (Note the reasonable start time!).
And these are My Game 3 Three Thoughts:
The Stars were starting to fade in the 2nd period of Game 3 and spent much of the 2nd period taking blows from Winnipeg. The Jets were starting to take full control and demonstrate why they were the President’s Trophy Winner in 2025. But, whatever adjustments might have been made or efforts might have been rewarded, Dallas won the 3rd period with emphatic results, 3-0, to win the day. We may look back at that period as a real turning point of this entire series.