Only two games on tonight. That's what happens late in a round. Not much overlap either, as the start times are two hours apart.

• The Ottawa Senators, also known as Canada's only remaining hope for a Stanley Cup winning team this year, can close out the series tonight in the nation's capital as they have a 3-2 series edge over the New York Rangers.
• The Phoenix Coyotes once again look for their first playoff series win since 1987, when the team was still in Winnipeg and I wasn't even born. The Chicago Blackhawks will look to keep that streak going as they attempt to win on home ice at the United Center for the first time this series, as phoenix took games 3 and 4. If I had to bet, I would say this one goes to overtime. The first 5 games did.

3 elimination type games today kick off with an early start in Philadelphia that is already under way.

• The Flyers look to finish off the Penguins in Game 6 in Philly.
• The Capitals can upset the Bruins later this afternoon in Washington
• The Kings could knock out the President's Trophy winning Canucks late this afternoon/earl this evening in Vancouver.

5 games today kick off with an afternoon contest and don't conclude until after the Blackhawks and Coyotes play for the first time since Raffi Torres was suspended for 25 games.

• The Capitals visit the Bruins this afternoon in Boston in Game 5 of a 2-2 series.
• The Devils visit the Panthers in game 5 of a 2-2 series, who will have home ice advantage in front of all (5) of their fans.
• The Senators return to MSG to face the Rangers as they evened the series at 2 in Game 4.
• The Blues vs Sharks series returns to the Central time zone as St. Louis looks to end the series at home.
• The Coyotes can finish off the Blackhawks in the desert tonight. Marian Hossa has been ruled out for the Hawks.

Only 2 games tonight, but both could see a surprising team exit the playoffs after just 5 games.

• The Penguins host the Flyers down 3 games to 1. They can take some comfort in a 10-3 drubbing they inflicted Wednesday in Philly. James Neal returns for Pittsburgh after serving a 1 game suspension.
• The Predators look to send the Red Wings packing as they host Detroit in front of the Sea of Mustard that is Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

4 teams look to take 3-1 series leads tonight. 4 teams look to make the series 2-2. There shouldn`t be any overlap there, but you never know!

• The Panthers look to extend their lead over the Devils following their 4-3 comeback win in Game 3.
• The Bruins look to get that much closer to repeating, as they take on the Capitals.
• The Coyotes are 2 wins away from their first series win since 1987, when they were the Jets 1.0. They take on the Blackhawks at the United Center minus Raffi Torres, who is suspended indefinitely.
• The Blues visit the Sharks in what continues to be my favourite series of the playoffs.

Two teams look to break out the brooms tonight and sweep their opponents out of the playoffs, while the Rangers look to go up 3-1 on the Senators...or Ottawa looks to tie the Blue Shirts from New York. The Penguins look to avoid being embarrassed out of the playoffs by the Flyers, though they will be attempting this without James Neal, Arron Asham, Craig Adams and $10,000 of Dan Bylsma's money. On the West Coast the Canucks will try to use the super powers of Daniel Sedin and Cory Schneider to prevent the Canucks from becoming the 6th President's Trophy winner to be eliminated in the first round, and the first to be swept, as Vancouver visits the Kings in game 4.

3 games tonight sees game 3 of the tied series between the Devils and the Panthers, Game 4 of a series the Predators lead 2-1 over the Red Wings and in the late game the Coyotes visit the Blackhawks in the late game

Only 3 games tonight: on the West coast there's just the one game with Brian Elliot taking the net for the Blues against the Sharks in game 3 of a 1-1 series, while 2 games are being played in the East as the Bruins visit the Capitals and the Rangers head on up to Ottawa to visit the Senators.

Saturday saw 4 games take place, with the Washington Capitals getting the better of the Boston Bruins in second OT 2-1, the Ottawa Senators beating the New York Rangers 3-2 in OT, the St. Louis Blues won 3-0 over the San Jose Sharks, and the Chicago Blackhawks edged the Phoenix Coyotes 4-3 in OT.

Sunday's action got underway early, and as of 20 to 4 Winnipeg time the Predators had beaten the Red Wings 3-2 and the Flyers were leading the Penguins by 2 after 1. This evening the Devils will once again visit the Panthers and their partially full arena, while the Canucks look to right the ship and try to catch up with the Kings, who carry a 2-0 series lead over the President's Trophy winners.

4 games tonight, with 3 Game 2's as well as the starts of the Devils vs Panthers series. The Penguins and Flyers resume hostilities, the Predators and Red Wings resume in a game where Shea Weber is playing and Hal Gill isn't. And later the Canucks look to pull even with the Kings after letting game 1 slip away with stupid penalties.

4 matches tonight see the Senators visit the Rangers, the Capitals visit the Bruins, the Sharks take on the Blues and the Blackhawks go to the desert to take on the Coyotes.

The Devils and Panthers will be the only teams yet to play their first game of the playoffs after tonight. They kick off tomorrow in Sunrise.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs open up with 3 contests as the Detroit Red Wings visit the Sea of Yellow in Nashville against the Predators, the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins resume hostilities in the Burgh and the Los Angeles Kings visit the Vancouver Canucks in the late game.

So tonight we find out who Failed For Nail. Who gets first pick overall, and who wins the lottery (those two do not go hand in hand)?

We will soon find out, as everyone's favorite henchman Bill Daly will tell us who picks from 1st through 14th. The Winnipeg jets have a 2.7% chance of moving up to 5th spot overall, while there is a small chance they move back to 10th overall. In all likelihood the Jets will pick 9th overall, but you never know. Just last year the New Jersey Devils were the 12th worst team in the league, but managed to move up to 8th overall.

Find out the results after THE JUMP

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Following the Jets' overtime heroics last night in Carolina, it would seem that they do not wish to obtain a high draft pick as badly as I do. The win puts a dent in the #greatesttankbattle battleplans, as now the Jets sit a few points ahead of teams such as the Hurricanes, Lightning, Wild, Islanders and the Maple Leafs. Which is most unfortunate, although I'm sure Toronto will once again make a bad decision at the draft and draft someone like Ryan Murray, who I am less than convinced "has was it takes".

The Jets have a perfectly good chance to make up for that unfortunate mishap last night, when they take on their Southeast Division counterparts in the Tampa bay Lightning tonight. With the combination of back to back games, plus this being a road game, the jets have a decent chance of losing. If that lands us a high pick to spend on a scoring centre then I'm all for it.

Expect the goaltenders to be Pavelec and Roloson tonight, as Coach Guy Boucher of the Bolts has said he'd be riding Rolly until Tampa was out, and Pavs should see the net as Iron Mason did the job last night in Raleigh.

The Jets will be without hard hitting, fan favourite Tanner Glass tonight, as the man who fights bears broke his foot in the first period last night before champing it out the rest of the game. So with that in mind, the lineups you see after the jump are pretty much resembling dogs breakfast.

I hope you enjoy them ever so much.

Keys to the Game, Player Numbers, the previously mentioned lineups and a sad Predicition coming up right after THE JUMP

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Honestly, you give a team 1 job to do...

The Jets did what most of us here would have preferred they not do, and defeated the Carolina Hurricanes by a score of 4-3 in overtime, thus increasing the margin in the standings between Winnipeg and other combatants in the #greatesttankbattles.

Can't fault them for trying though, as the Jets did find themselves trailing 3-1 at one point in the second period, only to have Spencer Machacek continue to make his case for staying up with the big club next year by dishing a sweet little pass for AC Slater to one-touch into the net on a 2 on 1 break that made the score 3-2 for the 'Canes after 2 periods.

The Jets would eventually tie the score late via a powerplay goal from Kyle Wellwood who managed to notch his 17th of the year, giving him 2 points on the game and 46 on the year, surpassing the 45 he accumulated in his rookie season as a Maple Leaf in 2005/2006.

The drama would carry on into OT, giving both teams unwanted points if you like high draft picks. Andrew Ladd would make sure the drama was short lived, as the Jets gained possession after Justin Faulk blew a tire and a hopeful Zach Bogosian pass into the area in front of the net fell onto the stick on Andrew Ladd who rang it off the post and in for his 25th of the year to give the Jets the W.

With the win the Jets won the season series over Carolina with a record of 4-2-0 while Carolina was 2-3-1 against the boys in Polar Night Blue.

The Jets now have 80 points on the year, good for 10th worst overall and putting some unfortunate distance between the Jets and the other tankers.

Highlights, Boxscore and Thoughts From The Tarmac coming your way after THE JUMP

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Winnipeg Jets (35-34-8) vs Carolina Hurricanes (31-31-15)

Jets vs Hurricanes coverage

Behind Enemy Lines: Canes Country

Winnipeg Jets vs Carolina Hurricanes Game Preview

TV: TSN Jets, FS-CR

Radio: TSN 1290

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Eastern Standings

	GP	W-L-OT	Pts
1) New York Rangers x	77	49-21-7	105
2) Boston Bruins	77	45-28-4	94
3) Florida Panthers	77	37-24-16	90
4) Pittsburgh Penguins x	77	47-24-6	100
5) Philadelphia Flyers x	77	45-24-8	98
6) New Jersey Devils	78	44-28-6	94
7) Ottawa Senators	77	39-28-10	88
8) Buffalo Sabres	77	38-29-10	86
OUT Washington Capitals	78	39-31-8	86
OUT Winnipeg Jets	77	35-34-8	78
OUT Tampa Bay Lightning	77	35-35-7	77
OUT Carolina Hurricanes	77	31-31-15	77
OUT New York Islanders	77	33-33-11	77
Eliminated Toronto Maple Leafs	78	33-36-9	75
Eliminated Montreal Canadiens	77	29-34-14	72

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Winnipeg Jets (35-33-8) vs New York Rangers (48-21-7)

Rangers vs Jets coverage

Behind Enemy Lines: Blueshirt Banter

Winnipeg Jets vs New York Rangers Game Preview

TV: TSN, RDSI, MSG Plus

Radio: TSN 1290

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Alrighty, for those of you not mathematically inclined I'm going to spell it out with an analogy for you: the odds of teh Jets making the playoffs are about as good as that of a snowstorm hitting Ecuador. It's not impossible, but it's highly improbable.

However, I don't really feel like painting the doom and gloom portrait of what went wrong and who's to blame so I'm just going to concentrate on the task at hand: tonight's game against the visiting New York Rangers. The Rangers have 103 points on the year, good enough for 2nd place in the NHL (1st if they win in regulation or OT tonight) as well as 1st in the Eastern Conference and 1st in the ultra competitive, high flying Atlantic Division (for all teams not named the Islanders).

The Rangers are also coming off a game last night. Before you start saying "Woohoo! We have a chance!" I'll stop you and say: it's the Rangers. A good team that laughs at the fact that other teams struggle with back to back games. The blue collar boys have amassed a record of 8-2-2 in the second half of back to back meetings this year.

Henrik Lundqvist DID play, so there's the chance that we see the pride of Lac-Saint-Charles, Martin Biron. Either way, the goalie isn't the only issue. It's not a high powered offense that does you in, as these NYR fellows have only 4 more goals than the Jets. Rather it's goaltending and defense, as their 170 goals against is good for 3rd lowest in the League and is significantly lower than the 223 the Jets have allowed.

Don't expect a high scoring game tonight. But don't expect a win either.

Keys to the Game, Player Numbers and Lineups coming up after THE JUMP

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In a game the Winnipeg Jets had to win, the Jets managed to avoid putting yet another nail in the lid of the coffin of the 2011-2012 season. The boys in Polar Night Blue came back from a 3-0 deficit and managed to send 18,506 people home unhappy when Tim Stapleton, aka Steam Punk, notched the winner in OT which gave members of the 4th line 3 goals and 3 assists on the night with a +7 rating. Oh, the shot was the only one little Timmy had all night too.

The game featured a lot of back and forth hockey early on, as both teams played with a high tempo that resulted in beaucoup chances at both ends, though one would have to say the Caps were the better team early. Mark Stuart established some physicality with 3 hits in the period, but only one period was called in the frame: a hooking penalty to Blake Wheeler. I guess Richard Pollock was correct. The Jets would kill off the penalty but only a short time later the Capitals would get on the board with a goal from monstrous fire-breathing she-goat Jason Chimera who used his speed to blow by Tobias Enstrom and put a backhand shot past Ondrej Pavelec giving the Caps a 1-0 lead after 1 period.

Washington came out flying in the second and a one on one situation with Alex Ovechkin and Mark Stuart would see Ovie snap a shot in off the post just 1:42 into the period, causing Coach Claude Noel to call a time out shortly before the 3 minute mark. Didn't work. Puck stayed primarily in the Winnipeg zone, a delayed penalty resulted in 6 skaters for the Caps and Ovie made it 3-0 on a one time shot from Mathieu Perreault pass at 5:47. Ben Maxwell would score a sweet spinorama goal off a pass from Tim Stapleton and 7:01 to pull the Jets within 2, his second career goal. Moments after that Brooks Laich would tangle with Jim Slater in what had to be viewed as a good trade for Winnipeg. AC looked all sorts of angry during that fight. Loved the passion. And so did the Jets as at 8:12 Bryan Little would take a rebound of Toby Enstrom shot off the post and deposit it in the net to make it 3-2. The wheels continued to spin for Washington as Dennis Wideman took a penalty at 8:59, but the PP was unable to do anything with the chance. The Caps finally seemed to get their feet back under them and some sustained pressure led to a "cross checking" penalty to Ron Hainsey with a little less than 7 minutes left in the period. Jets killed the penalty, but eventually the puck came to Mike Knuble with a gaping net in front of him, but Stu came out of nowhere to make a goal saving stick check. With the shots at 23 to 21 for Winnipeg the 2nd ended with a score of 3-2 Caps.

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Winnipeg Jets (34-31-8) vs Washington Capitals (37-30-7)

Jets vs Capitals coverage

Behind Enemy Lines: Japers Rink

Winnipeg Jets vs Washington Capitals Game Preview

TV: TSN Jets; CSN-MA

Radio: TSN 1290

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*takes a deep breath*

*puts on a brave face*

The Jets are not out of playoff contention yet! Sure that's about as likely as me winning the 50/50 when I go to the rangers game next week, but one has to be optimistic. The Jets sit in 10th place, a mere 5 points back of 8th place Washington with a whopping 9 games to play. A regulation win puts the boys in Polar Night Blue 3 points back of the Caps and with a game in hand. A win tomorrow night against the Predators (Pekka Rinne looks mortal right now) and just like that the gap is one point and any sequence of flukes can see the Jets get into the post season.

The Jets would have to do a couple things they aren't known for though:

1. Win on the road
2. Win a back to back game
3. Win consistently

Not the easiest recipe in the world, but still possible. And while taking the #greatesttankbattles route might seem like the logical path to take, I am one of the opinion that you win as many games as you can in a season and let management take care of the dirty laundry in the off season.

Speaking of back to back games and winning on the road, the Capitals played last night in a contest that had to be solved by everybody's favorite skills competition. They lost, with Braden Holtby ending up SOL.

The Jets most recent game featured a team that was much better than them and if I were a betting man I would not pick to win the Stanley Cup.

Keys to the Game, Player Numbers and Lineups coming your way after THE JUMP

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Winnipeg Jets (34-30-8) vs Pittsburgh Penguins (44-21-6)

Jets vs Penguins coverage

Behind Enemy Lines: PensBurgh

Winnipeg Jets @ Pittsburgh Penguins Game Preview

TV: TSN-Jets, Root

Radio: TSN 1290, 105.9 The X

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Eastern Standings

	GP	W-L-OT	Pts
1) New York Rangers x	72	45-20-7	97
2) Boston Bruins	72	42-27-3	87
3) Florida Panthers	71	35-23-13	83
4) Pittsburgh Penguins	71	44-21-6	94
5) Philadelphia Flyers	72	42-22-8	92
6) New Jersey Devils	73	41-27-5	87
7) Ottawa Senators	73	37-26-10	84
8) Washington Capitals	73	37-30-6	80
OUT Buffalo Sabres	73	34-29-10	78
OUT Winnipeg Jets	72	34-30-8	76
OUT Carolina Hurricanes	73	29-29-15	73
OUT Toronto Maple Leafs	73	32-33-8	72
OUT Tampa Bay Lightning	72	32-33-7	71
OUT New York Islanders	72	29-32-11	69
OUT Montreal Canadiens	73	28-32-13	69

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The Winnipeg Jets need to win on the road in order to make the post season. And even then, they'll need some help on the way to make that a reality.

This is the harsh reality that both the team and fans now face, as with 10 games remaining and just 3 of those within the friendly confine of the Hangar, the Jets must do what they have been unable to do all season if they wish to play hockey after April 7th: win on the road.

7 games on the road, and tonight's test is a big one. The Jets face a team that looks to push deep into the playoffs featuring MVP candidate Evgeni Malkin and a healthy Sidney Crosby. I'd mention some other quality names on the roster, but I choose to remain cautiously optimistic and ignoring those facts makes it easier. Don't judge me.

The pens recently had their hot streak halted at 9 consecutive wins when they lost in the last second of OT in Philadelphia on Sunday, losing an opportunity to move within striking distance of the New York Rangers, who have struggled of late without the services of Ryan Callahan, Michael Del Zotto, and most importantly Henrik Lundqvist. So while their odds of making the playoffs are very good, they would love to move up in the standings and will be hungry to face a "beatable" opponent such as Winnipeg.

Speaking of missed opportunities, if I had not received a free bobble head when I went to the Hurricanes game on Sunday I would have been completely and thoroughly annoyed by the performance the Jets displayed for their home crowd, as they relinquished a 3-2 3rd period lead to lose 4-3 and pass up on an opportunity to move equal in the standings with Washington. Instead the Jets remain at 76 points, while the Capitals won in Detroit last night to put themselves 4 puts ahead at 80. Every logical part of my mind says I should abandon hope on the playoffs. But I just refuse to surrender myself to that thought yet, so I maintain hope that the planets align, the hockey gods smile and through some fluke the Jets end up in 8th.

A boy can dream.

Keys to the Game, Player Numbers and Lineups coming up after THE JUMP

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Winnipeg Jets (32-29-8) vs Carolina Hurricanes (39-26-5)

Hurricanes vs Jets coverage

Behind Enemy Lines: Canes Country

Winnipeg Jets vs Carolina Hurricanes Game Preview

TV: TSN Jets, FS-CR

Radio: TSN 1290

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Eastern Standings

	GP	W-L-OT	Pts
1) New York Rangers	71	44-20-7	95
2) Boston Bruins	71	41-27-3	85
3) Florida Panthers	71	35-23-13	83
4) Pittsburgh Penguins	71	44-21-6	94
5) Philadelphia Flyers	72	42-22-8	92
6) New Jersey Devils	72	41-26-5	87
7) Ottawa Senators	73	37-26-10	84
8) Washington Capitals	71	36-29-6	78
OUT Winnipeg Jets	71	34-29-8	76
OUT Buffalo Sabres	72	33-29-10	76
OUT Toronto Maple Leafs	72	32-32-8	72
OUT Tampa Bay Lightning	71	32-32-7	71
OUT Carolina Hurricanes	72	28-29-15	71
OUT New York Islanders	72	29-32-11	69
OUT Montreal Canadiens	73	28-32-13	69

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In what ultimately is another must-win game, the Jets face division rivals Carolina in a Sunday night tilt at the MTS Centre, with heavy playoff implications for all!

The Jets, as of press time, sat in 9th in the Eastern Conference just 2 points back of the Washington Capitals, who they will visit next Friday. The Hurricanes sit in 13th in the Conference at 71 points, still technically in the playoff hunt, but it would take a lot of help and they'd pretty much have to win their last 10 games. I don't see that happening.

However, they did beat Minnesota yesterday. Not that that's a big accomplishment as the Wild have really fallen off since Winnipeg busted their winning streak. But the 5-3 final score, after being down 3-1, suggests that the Canes still have some fight on them. We'll see how much fight they have on the limited rest they would have had since yesterday afternoon.

The Jets are coming off their most recent biggest win of the year over Southeast rivals Washington, a team that currently holds the coveted 8th and final playoff spot in the conference. Winnipeg has 11 games to catch them.

It can be done. It's not an easy task for a team with an awful road record. but a few wins here, a few Caps losses there and anything is possible.

Keys to the Game, Player Numbers and Lineups coming up after THE JUMP

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