There’s something fitting about the winter storm currently encasing Winnipeg. Despite being winter’s last gasp before exhaling into spring, it could also be a precursor to what hockey fans in our market are potentially gearing up for later this month.
You know, a whiteout.
But before the longstanding playoff tradition can return to the city, the Winnipeg Jets will need to take care of their part, starting Wednesday night in the most crucial of regular season games to date for the team in years.
If you didn’t know, the last playoff spot in the Western Conference is really down to a two-horse race — the Jets and the visiting Calgary Flames.
To be precise, Wednesday night’s finale in the season series between the two Western Canadian rivals is not a must-win for either team, but it could very well be a weather vane pointing in the direction of what’s to follow for the two — win or lose.
And that’s important to understand, because a Jets win does not secure a post-season berth, nor does a loss eliminate them from playoff qualification.
What a victory tonight would do, however, is plow an easier path toward hockey past Game 82, and keep the winning team in complete control of the wheel en route to their desired destination.
And with only five games remaining on the schedule, one of Calgary or Winnipeg won’t make the playoffs — but by all indications, Wednesday’s tilt between the two will be a playoff game in every aspect, except by true definition.
Whatever transpires at Canada Life Centre, the lead-up to the game has been simply exhilarating. It’s what this time of year as a hockey fan is all about — same for the players themselves — and the outcome a gauge of what spring hockey can be.
For Jets fans, though, the only difficulty might be travelling through a whiteout in order to get to see the game, but most will gladly endure the conditions if it’s a preview of another Winnipeg whiteout later this month.
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