from Scott Burnside of ESPN,

Let's start here: wait until Devan Dubnyk and the Minnesota Wild play a real NHL team before we start deciding whether they have turned some sort of corner, okay? Now, where was I? Oh, yes: Oh, Canada!

Thursday night was a fine illustration of why the second half of the season is going to be full of drama for Western Canadian teams and their fans. The Winnipeg Jets, behind Ondrej Pavelec's 46-save performance, won again, beating the Dallas Stars 2-1. The Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames both won as well, with the Flames getting a second straight standout performance from Joni Ortio (who dat?) in goal. The Jets' win strengthened their grip on the top wild card spot at 54 points. Meanwhile, Vancouver (51 points) is in a dogfight with the San Jose Sharks (53), Los Angeles Kings (50) and Calgary (49) for what looks now to be three playoff spots (two in the Pacific Division, one wild card spot).

For Canadian fans who are used to talking more about draft positioning for the Flames and Jets and the Canucks' recent glory days, all of a sudden there is a legitimate question of just how many of these teams could end up at the playoff dance come mid-April.

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