Winnipeg ties up with Dallas with a decisive Nino Niederreiter

Winnipeg has learned its lesson. Beaten at home - a first since the start of the NHL playoffs - by Dallas on Thursday (2-3), in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals, the Jets laid down the law in Game 2. On the night of Friday to Saturday, they secured a comfortable 4-0 victory, which is beyond dispute.

Leader in the West at the end of the regular season, thanks to the best record in the league (56 wins, 22 losses), Winnipeg was already leading 2-0 after 8 minutes, following goals from Gabriel Vilardi (4th) and Nikolaj Ehlers (8th). Adam Lowry - scorer of the qualification goal in the previous round against Saint-Louis, in overtime of the decisive Game 7 - took charge of increasing the score in the 32nd, concluding a play on which Nino Niederreiter was credited with an assist. The 32-year-old Grisons winger, unlucky scorer Thursday, recorded his 5th point of the playoffs.

Late in the game, Nikolaj Ehlers scored twice to cap off the Jets' victory (57th minute). The Jets also had a formidable goalkeeper, Connor Hellebuyck, who earned first star honors for his 21 saves.

Before traveling twice to Texas, this Sunday (10:30 p.m. Swiss time) and then during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday (2:30 a.m. Swiss time), the Canadian franchise returns to 1-1 in the series, played as a best-of-7.

On the Dallas side, Solothurn defender Lian Bichsel (20 years old), an NHL rookie, skated for 12 minutes.

In the other game of the night, in the East, Florida overcame a two-goal deficit against Toronto to win 5-4 after overtime and return to 2-1 in the series.