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It’s one thing for the Winnipeg Jets to say they still believe they can scratch and claw their way back into the NHL Western Conference playoff race.
But the team has managed to back up those words with its actions since coming out of the Olympic break.
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Yes, the Jets required some late-game heroics to avoid what would have been a disastrous outcome versus the lowly Chicago Blackhawks and the Vancouver Canucks as part of a 3-0 start to this critical homestand.
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But the fact of the matter is, they found a way to win those games — and not suffer yet another disheartening one-goal loss, like earlier this season, when over a nearly two-month span, Winnipeg had to endure what turned into an NHL-record 13 consecutive losses in one-goal decisions.
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And the reward for the Jets’ perseverance, these past seven days in particular, is halving what was a double-digit deficit for that No. 2 wild-card berth in the West when the homestand began to five points with 20 games to go entering this week.
That old saying about “what have you done for me lately” certainly comes into play because two of the next three games on the schedule are against opponents Winnipeg has yet to beat this season — Anaheim Tuesday night and Colorado Saturday afternoon.
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It’s a tall order — perhaps a tad unrealistic — to expect Mark Scheifele and friends to continue running the table at Canada Life Centre, facing that quality of competition.
But there’s no margin for error for Winnipeg — if they intend to continue “walking the walk” in the direction of the playoff line in the West.
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The odds remain stacked, but one thing that has become quite evident over the past dozen days or so.
You can search high and low, and in every nook and cranny of the Winnipeg Jets dressing room, and there will not be a white flag to be found anywhere.
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