DALLAS — It’s the question likely keeping head coach Scott Arniel tossing and turning in his hotel room bed: Why have the Winnipeg Jets become perpetual playoff roadkill?

Failing to find an answer — and fast — could mean a long summer of sleepless nights ahead.

“Without going too deep, the biggest thing a head coach once told me, and I’ve told our group, is there isn’t a home or a road way to play. There’s only a right way,” Arniel said Monday following his team’s optional practice at American Airlines Center.

“We have a certain style that we’re accustomed to playing and how we play and we’ve been doing it all year long. We’ve got to get back to being that road team that we were through 82 games. The playoffs haven’t been good.”

Julio Cortez / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel (centre) said the team has to get back to how they were playing on the road during the regular season.

They certainly have not, with an 0-4 record this season in enemy territory including Sunday’s 5-2 loss to the Dallas Stars which puts the Jets in a 2-1 deficit in the best-of-seven series. Overall, Winnipeg has lost eight straight road playoff games dating back to 2023, getting outscored 42-13 in that nightmarish span by Vegas, Colorado, St. Louis and now Dallas.

The Jets led the NHL with 26 wins away from home during the regular season, which makes this sudden switch from road warriors to road worriers so puzzling.

“I don’t think it is a lack of preparation or a lack of effort. I think it is just, when the games get going, from the first puck drop we have to have the attention to detail and come out guns blazing and have that attitude that we do going into the second and third of all these games,” said forward Cole Perfetti.

“There isn’t a home or a road way to play. There’s only a right way.”–Scott Arniel

“In a lot of these games we have fallen behind the eight ball to start and the hardest thing to do when you are down on the road in the playoffs, early in games, it is hard to come back.”

Winnipeg has given up the first goal in three of its four road games this spring, including just 2:27 into Sunday’s contest. They have held a lead for just 5:39 of the 240 total minutes played, which adds a lot of extra stress in what is already a hostile environment.

They’ve also had a tendency to give up goals in bunches, such as the two in 49 seconds during Game 3 against the Stars which turned a 2-2 game into a 4-2 deficit early in the third.

“Obviously, we can look at some of those moments in games where something doesn’t go our way and maybe it compounds a little bit and be better able to handle that in the future,” defenceman Josh Morrissey said of struggling with adversity.

Whether it’s emotional fragility or immaturity or something else, a Jets team with championship dreams must come up with solutions starting with Tuesday’s massive Game 4 in Dallas. A loss puts Winnipeg on the brink of elimination, needing to win three straight games. A victory turns this into a best-of-three with the Jets back to enjoying home-ice advantage.

“We want to go on a long run and we are going to have to deal with adversity and have to go through things. Every team does in order to win a Stanley Cup,” said Perfetti.

Julio Cortez / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS From left: Winnipeg Jets forward Cole Perfetti, head coach Scott Arniel and assistant coach Davis Payne. Perfetti said the Jets need to play a full 60 minutes on the road in the playoffs.

“It is not going to be an easy route. We are going to have to deal with opposition, the refs or the unlucky bounces. It is part of the game of hockey. We have had a few of them in this post-season and have had little collapses in a few of the games and we have to make sure that when that does happen, when we do get thrown a gut punch we are able to respond.”

The latest blow was the controversial game-winning goal by Dallas defenceman Alex Petrovic which referees ruled was deliberately kicked towards Winnipeg’s net but still counted because goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was deemed to have scored on himself.

“We want to go on a long run and we are going to have to deal with adversity and have to go through things. Every team does in order to win a Stanley Cup.”–Cole Perfetti

The Jets vehemently disagreed with the ruling but had turned the page on Monday, wanting to focus on the road ahead and not what was now in the rear-view mirror.

Arniel wouldn’t tip his hand as to whether any lineup changes could be in the works. Dallas hasn’t ruled out a return of top defenceman Miro Heiskanen, who has been out since late January with a knee injury.

“Obviously he’s an elite, elite player, obviously, and hopefully he takes a little bit more time to make sure he’s (ready),” Arniel joked.

“But no, we can’t worry about somebody that’s not here. If (all) of a sudden we show up in the warmup and he’s out there, then yeah, we certainly have to recognize him if he’s there, but we can’t really worry about who’s here and who isn’t.”

Mark Scheifele and Gabe Vilardi were among the handful of regulars who skated Monday, joining the healthy scratches on the ice. The Jets spent plenty of time going through video as they now look to follow up a loss with a win for the second time this series, just as they did back in Winnipeg last week.

“Obviously we know that on the road we have to be better. We have to be more consistent and that area obviously hasn’t been good. But at the end of the day, this group all year long has been able to respond,” said Arniel.

“We have good leadership and guys recognize that there’s areas that we have to be more consistent with. We have to improve on, build on some areas that we were good at. The one thing about the playoffs, it’s the next game. It really is. You can love what you did if you win, you hate what you did if you lose, but it really is all about the next step. We have to win in this building obviously. They took Game 1 from us, so we have to win in this building.”

Perfetti said the belief within the room remains strong despite their checkered playoff history.

“We have been the best team in the league all year and that gives us all the confidence in the world,” he said.

“Yeah, our record is not great with the road playoff games so far, but we were great on the road during the regular season and it was because we played our style and didn’t give the opposition anything and that is how we are going to have to play. We haven’t gotten to our game and, honestly, we haven’t played a full 60 on the road yet and that is on us. We have played great games at home and now we just have to do it on the road.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg