WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Pretender or contender?
The Winnipeg Jets likely will find out what kind of team they have over the next week as they play four games against some of the toughest the Western Conference has to offer: the Vancouver Canucks, the Chicago Blackhawks and back-to-back contests with the St. Louis Blues.
December is usually too early for crunch time, but with the Jets coming off a three-game road trip on which they garnered just a single point in an overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night, they can either show they belong with the big boys or join the pack of middle-of-the-road squads.