Winnipeg Jets center Kyle Wellwood (l) and Florida Panthers defenceman Dmitry Kulikov tangle during NHL hockey in Winnipeg, Man. Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013. BRIAN DONOGH/WINNIPEG SUN/QMI AGENCY
The door is open. It’s up to the Winnipeg Jets to walk through it — or stumble on the threshold and watch as someone slams it in their face.
There will be no better opportunity for the Jets to earn a playoff spot than there is now, in this lockout-shortened season that just became even more up-for-grabs in the NHL’s poor-sister division.
If the Southeast wasn’t already the cream puff of them all, it just got a little softer, with the loss of its top goalie on the weekend.
Word of the division-leading Carolina Hurricanes being without Cam Ward for the next six to eight weeks puts a whole new spin on the turtle derby of hockey, where just one team is playing better than .500 hockey and residing above the playoff line.
This “race” just became three-legged. Whoever hobbles over the line, first, gets the spoils.
Leading the way, for now, Carolina’s modest 25 points, four more than Winnipeg.
