Yeah I don't tend to buy into this narrative either, however it's not inconceivable to think that it's possible and in the league's best interests for Toronto or Montreal to come out of the North given the size of those markets, so if Winnipeg who is an easier out for those two teams, beat the Oilers then it could be preferable in the league's eyes. The reason I doubt this narrative though is because if McDavid and the Oilers made it to the conference finals I think it would be a bigger draw in the States than the Leafs or Canadiens. Also, I think an Oilers-Leafs 2nd round series would likely draw more TV viewership across Canada than Leafs-Jets. If the league has done their marketing research though and that's not the case then yeah maybe there's a case to be made that the league would favour the Jets in this series.
The refs are using playoff rules. In the playoffs interference and all kinds of obstruction are not called, and that favours the Jets in a massive way. So its not that the Jets are getting favourable reffing, the Oilers are interfering and obstructing as well, but it really quiets down our 2 most potent weapons.
The way to beat the Jets is fairly simple but not guaranteed as a trap team as deep and large as the Jets are with large defensemen (and the 2 smaller guys they have in Morrissey and Pionk can skate) and a Vezina winning goalie are tough to beat.
We need to play a 2-1-2 with the 2 low forwards feeding the point and then getting their asses to the net for garbage and tips with the 3rd man high playing a swing to prevent breakouts. It is also how we will get penalty calls as its clear the refs aren't giving a crap about calling interference and obstruction, so let them call the slashing, roughing and cross checking in front of the net.
It isn't pretty and it eliminates the skill of a McDavid and Draisaitl but they are being forced to the outside anyway. They will still get their rush chances but the problem is its one and done and we are defending again. If we make this simple adjustment we have a chance but we need speedier forwards in there so I would put in Nygard, Shore, Haas.
If the Oilers want to attack with finesse we will lose this series.