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WASHINGTON - It's what motivates Bryan Little Gabriel Landeskog Jersey every day - and, truthfully, it also occasionally has him ready to bang his head against a wall in frustration.A veteran of 347 NHL games and counting, the Winnipeg Jets forward has played in exactly zero Stanley Cup playoff games. Sitting beside him in the Jets dressing room is his linemate Andrew Ladd, a guy who already has his name engraved on the Stanley Cup.Twice.So, while simply qualifying for the playoffs Patrick Kane Authentic Jersey is old hat in places like Detroit and Boston, it matters a ton to Little and the other players on the current Jets lineup who have yet to appear in a single post-season contest.And that can be as powerful a motivator as any as the Jets face the Washington Capitals on Friday night with their playoff future precariously hanging in the balance.``I've played four years and I've never played in a playoff game,'' said Little on Thursday after the Jets practised in Arlington, Va. Some folks were wondering why we were so critical of Ales Hemsky's two-year, $10 million deal with the Edmonton Oilers and less skeptical of Mikhail Grabovski's new five-year, $27.5 million pact. Well, it’s really Tim Tebow Jets Jersey a case of simple math.First, let’s start by saying it’s a moot point to debate whether anyone who has never scored 30 goals in an NHL season or topped the 60-point plateau is "worth" more than $5 million a year, as is the case with Grabovski.What is more illuminating is to examine the two teams’ options Peyton Manning Youth Jersey when it came to these players and what were their relative needs.``So, believe me, there's nothing more that we want than to make the playoffs. If we don't, it's going to be a long summer and I know all about long summers. You don't want to have any regrets after the season is over.''All told, there are nine Jet regulars (not including recent call-ups Spencer Machacek and Ben Maxwell) who have never appeared in the Stanley Cup playoffs: Little, Evander Kane, Alex Burmistrov, Ron Hainsey, Chris Thorburn, Grant Clitsome, Ondrej Pavelec, Toby Enstrom and Zach Bogosian.Combined, they have appeared in 2,556 regular-season Marian Hossa Authentic Jersey games and not once had a shot at competing for hockey's most-cherished trophy.``The last two years are the only two years I haven't made the playoffs at any level,'' said Kane, whose last playoff game came with the Western Hockey League's Vancouver Giants in 2008-09. ``I don't enjoy that. I want to have a shorter summer than I did last year.``It's nice to be going to the rink when it's sunny out, when it's good weather and it's still light out when you go to John Tavares Authentic Jersey the games. I remember playing in junior in the playoffs and going deep into May and June. I haven't had that opportunity to play in the Stanley Cup playoffs yet and it's something I definitely want to do this year.``It's what every hockey-playing kid dreams about.''Dreaming about it and experiencing it, quite clearly, are two different things.While there remains a quiet confidence in the Jets' camp even after Tuesday's 8-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, there's also a sense of urgency with the remaining regular-season games now sitting at nine.``When guys like Andrew and Buff (Dustin Byfuglien, also a Stanley Cup champ) talk about the playoffs, Shea Weber Authentic Jersey the other guys in the room get excited,'' said Little. ``They know what it takes and they talk about how much fun it is to be in a playoff run.``This is definitely the toughest time of year. Everyone's got bumps and bruises and you don't want to make it for nothing. You're battling every night so that you can get into the playoffs. And for me, I've never watched the first couple of rounds of the playoffs. And when I do, it's frustrating because you want to be Ryan Suter Authentic Jersey playing.''The other factor potentially at play here for the Jets: overwhelmed by the support they've received from fans in Winnipeg from October through March, they are also intrigued about what the atmosphere might be like with meaningful games being played at the MTS Centre come mid-April.``Me and a lot of guys in this room have been saying that playoff hockey in Winnipeg could be a pretty special thing,'' said Kane. ``I mean, it's already crazy . . . I don't know how Pekka Rinne Authentic Jersey much crazier it could get, but it would definitely be exciting for the fans and the city.``And it's something we're going to try to make happen.''
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