WINNIPEG -- Blake Wheeler says his Winnipeg Jets are racing for a Western Conference playoff spot. Winnipeg got out of the post-Olympic starting blocks quickly with a 3-2 shootout win over the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday night as Wheeler scored his 23rd goal of the season. "A vast percentage of the league is going to be pretty rested after a 2 1/2-week break," said Wheeler, who played for the United States in Sochi, but saw limited minutes as the Americans 13th forward. "I think its an all-out sprint. Theres no time to be tired." Wheeler was joined on the score sheet by Bryan Little. Olli Jokinen put away the shootout winner in the fourth round for Winnipeg (29-26-6). Devin Setoguchi also beat Coyotes goalie Mike Smith in the shootout, while Antoine Vermette was the only Coyote to solve Ondrej Pavelec. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Martin Hanzal scored in regulation for Phoenix (27-21-11) in the first game for both teams after a 19-day break for the Winter Olympics. The Jets continued their winning ways under new head coach Paul Maurice, improving to 10-3-1 since he replaced the fired Claude Noel. Despite some less-than-crisp play, the coach said he was pleasantly surprised by how well his team played after such a long layoff. "It was tough at times, but just from the stuff I watched the last two days (around the league), it was a better game than I thought I was going to see," Maurice said. Winnipeg pulled within one point of the Coyotes as both teams chase a wild-card playoff spot, although Phoenix has two games in hand. Dallas sits in the final spot with 66 points, one better than Phoenix and Vancouver, and two ahead of Winnipeg. Pavelec made 34 saves for the Jets, with two of his toughest stops coming in overtime. "It wasnt an easy game for both teams. It was the first game back and we didnt know what to expect a little bit," said Pavelec, who stopped Mike Ribeiro to end the shootout. Smith stopped 27 shots for the visitors, including a pair of scoring chances in the final seconds of regulation. "For the most part I felt not too bad," said Smith, who was a member of Canadas gold medal-winning team in Sochi but didnt see any playing time. "But like I said, it doesnt matter how you feel, you need to come out on the better side of things." Hanzal put away a rebound to tie the game at 2-2 with Jets centre Jim Slater in the penalty box 6:40 into the third period. Winnipeg took advantage of a giveaway by Coyotes defenceman Zbynek Michalek to take the lead late in the second period. With Ekman-Larsson in the penalty box, Little intercepted Michaleks pass in the low slot and beat Smiths glove hand to make it 2-1. The teams wasted no time reminding fans of one of the differences between international hockey and the NHL game. Winnipegs Zach Bogosian and Phoenixs Rob Klinkhammer dropped the gloves just 78 seconds into the game after Klinkhammer shoved Bogosians defence partner Toby Enstrom into the boards. The Coyotes opened the scoring with an Ekman-Larsson wrist shot from the high slot that went in off the post 12:17 into the first period. It took the Jets less than three minutes to respond, as Wheelers shot from the corner hit Coyotes defenceman Michael Stone in the leg and bounced into the net. Smith was distracted earlier in the sequence by Winnipeg forward Dustin Byfuglien, and the Coyotes argued for an interference call. Smith and Coyotes coach Dave Tippett both said they disagreed with the non-call in their post-game comments. "Personally, I think if theres incidental contact in the net and then the puck goes in after, it shouldve been not a penalty, but it shouldnt have been allowed," Smith said. Notes: Jocelyne Larocque of Ste. Anne, Man., a defenceman for Canadas Olympic gold medal-winning womens hockey team, performed the ceremonial puck drop. a The Jets welcomed back Slater, who missed 52 games with a sports hernia, and left-winger Evander Kane, who sat out the last six games before the Olympic break with a hand injury. a The Jets head to Nashville for a one-game road trip on Saturday, while the Coyotes play in Denver Friday night before heading home. a The teams have one remaining meeting, April 1 in Arizona. Derek Wolfe Jersey . -- The Washington Redskins coaching staff distanced itself from other coaches Thursday by siding with ownership -- and not the players -- in the NFLs labour dispute. Connor McGovern Jersey . The best round belonged to Pat Perez. Tiger Woods didnt come close to claiming either Thursday in the Farmers Insurance Open, where the seven-time champion failed to break par in the opening round for first time in his career. http://www.officialdenverbroncosfootball.com/authentic-brendan-langley-jersey-womens . He wants to seize that opportunity. The trouble is, Firus has had more bumps on the road to Sochi than most. Last year, Firus had the skate of a lifetime in the short program at the Canadian championships when he landed his first triple Axel in competition and finished third in a stacked field. Todd Davis Jersey . Former San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds made his longshot request of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit upheld Bonds conviction in September. Sua Cravens Jersey .C., won gold in the womens 200-metre backstroke, and Dominique Bouchard of North Bay, Ont. MINNEAPOLIS -- Oswaldo Arcia -- and about everyone else at Target Field -- had time to admire his three-run home run in the fourth inning that hit close to the top of the pole in right field. The young slugger made a stronger impression and an even bigger impact two at-bats later. Arcia had four RBIs, including the go-ahead single in the seventh, to push the Minnesota Twins past Milwaukee 6-4 on Wednesday night for their seventh win in the last eight meetings with the Brewers. Arcia went deep for the third time in 10 games since his recall from Triple-A to give the Twins a 3-1 lead. Through translator and teammate Eduardo Nunez, Arcia said he waited at the plate for several seconds to watch the ball soar because he knew it was close to hooking foul. "He thinks it was a home run, right away," Nunez said. Said manager Ron Gardenhire: "Pretty impressive. Hes a strong young man." After Aramis Ramirez tied the game with a three-run homer in the seventh inning against Ricky Nolasco (4-5), the Brewers brought in lights-out left-hander Will Smith to face Arcia after Josh Willingham had doubled with two outs against Rob Wooten (1-3). Arcia hung in there long enough to stroke a 2-2 slider into right field to drive in Willingham, who forced in an earlier run against starter Marco Estrada with a bases-loaded walk. Arcia, who swung and missed at the same slider one pitch earlier, took second on the throw home to get in position to score on a single by Trevor Plouffe. That was just the second earned run against Smith all season and the first in 15 games. "Against Will Smith, not many left-handers are going to hit his breaking ball," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. But Arcia did, picking up Nolasco and the Twins. Nolasco, who retired 13 straight batters until consecutive singles by Jonathan Lucroy and Carlos Gomez to start the seventh, recovered after Ramirezs wallop to finish the inning. Nolasco struck out seven without a walk while allowing six hits, another step forward from an awful first month with the Twins after signing the richest free agent contract in club history. "They made me pay. Thats what this lineup can do, quick,," Nolasco said, adding: "Im not going to take one pitch and ruin my night.dddddddddddd" Glen Perkins pitched a perfect ninth for his 16th save in 18 chances. Ramirez started the season strong but was slumping badly when he strained his left hamstring 22 games ago, and the first-place Brewers havent missed a beat without him, with Mark Reynolds and his 13 home runs at third base. "Thats what Im here for, to drive in runs and help the team," Ramirez said. The Brewers started this string of 15 of 18 games on the road with the lead after consecutive two-out doubles by Rickie Weeks and Reynolds in the second, but for the second straight game the Twins had success against part of what has been a sturdy rotation for the Brewers. The return of Willingham and Arcia to the heart of the order after missing a combined 74 games with wrist injuries and rehab assignments was a big boost for the Twins last week, and they gave Estrada trouble. Home plate umpire Andy Fletcher gave Estrada some trouble, too, with several close calls going against the right-hander. "They just werent going our way," Estrada said. NOTES: The four-game burst between the border-state rivals finishes Thursday, with Wily Peralta (4-5, 2.73 ERA) pitching for the Brewers and Kevin Correia (2-6, 5.87 ERA) taking the mound for the Twins. Peralta is 0-4 in his last five starts, but with a 3.64 ERA. Correia lost to Mashiro Tanaka and the Yankees in New York last week while giving up just one run in six innings. Both teams will wear throwback uniforms from the 1980s, with the Twins in their powder-blue road jerseys from that era. ... Twins RHP Mike Pelfrey, put on the DL more than a month ago due to a strained groin, will have his elbow examined next week Dr. James Andrews, who performed the Tommy John ligament replacement procedure on his arm in 2012. Pelfrey has been bothered by inflammation in the joint. ... Gomezs success in the No. 4 spot, where he batted for the 12th straight game, allowed Roenicke to ease Ramirez back in at No. 5. But Roenicke said his ideal order is Gomez leading off. The Brewers have used at least four different players in each of the nine spots this season. 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