Can Winnipeg fans turn Jets' playoff fortunes?

ANAHEIM – The MTS Centre is one of the cooler places to watch a hockey game in the NHL. Fans arrive on time for opening face off. They’re engaged in all the action. If you look up at the 15,000-plus Jets faithful they’re always in their seats. Always.

Crowds play an important role in any game, mostly from an ambiance level. But can these crazy Manitobans do enough to stop Anaheim’s powerful third periods in Monday’s Game 3? Anaheim has entered the final frame down a goal in Games 1 and 2, and somehow escaped home with a 2-0 series lead.

“The energy you get from your own building is something you have to use,” Jets captain Andrew Ladd said. “You gain momentum and the crowd gets going, you get a boost from that and you try to use that any way you can.”

Home ice isn’t completely a myth in the playoffs, but ultimately, the team’s preparation is the deciding issue in a series. The Jets realize this.

“Your performance is the first and primary factor,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said.

Message sent.

Even though Winnipeg’s fans are indeed nuts – in the best way possible – the Jets aren’t a great home team. In fact that organization still hasn’t won a playoff game … wait, what, aren’t they the Jets of old? Nope, remember they were born as the Atlanta Thrashers – a fact that a lot seem to forget. The old Jets – who are now the Arizona Coyotes, last made the playoffs as the Jets in 1996. Follow?

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Winnipeg didn’t have the best home record in the Western Conference this past season. They ranked sixth with a 23-13-5 mark at the MTS Centre. In fact, the Jets have never had the best home record in their conference since they moved to Winnipeg from Atlanta. This year’s record was tied for Winnipeg’s best since it made the move north.

There’s no doubt their fans will be pumped. The white-clad scene will be incredible. But the Ducks have taken all of Winnipeg’s punches this series and countered with the brute physicality and strength we all thought Winnipeg would use to punish Anaheim. Oh, and guess who happens to have the best road record in the Western Conference? It’s the Ducks.

The regular season is not the playoffs, and maybe the Ducks will morph into a group unlike the squad that went 25-12-4 away from Honda Center. But more than anything, the Jets just need a change of scenery to destroy the bitter taste of allowing two straight third period comebacks.

The Jets were considered a bad match up for the Ducks before the playoffs because of their size and superior puck possession numbers. If the Ducks can take Game 3, it’ll show we were wrong. Anaheim was the worst scenario for the Jets.

“That’s a very good road game team,” Jets goaltender Ondrej Pavelec said. “We’re all excited to go back to Winnipeg and play in the MTS Centre. We know it’s going to be wild over there. We’ll see what happens.”

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper

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