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. China Shoes For Sale . -- The Oakland Raiders expect to have starting right tackle Tony Pashos back for Sundays game against the Houston Texans. Fake Yeezy . The commissioners office said Friday that Sears tested positive for metabolites of Methandienone. Sears will be 23 in March. He signed with the Braves in June 2013 out of Arizona Christian, an NAIA school, and is on the roster of the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Braves. http://www.fakeshoesonline.com/. Granada defender Diego Mainz barged into the back of Villa to send the Spain striker to the ground inside the area and Costa stepped up to the spot to score his 12th league goal in the 38th minute. Costa showed no effects of the news that his Brazilian citizenship may be revoked after he elected to play for Spains national team, as the forward was a constant threat for Atletico and forced several saves from goalkeeper Roberto. Cheap Shoes Fake . LOUIS -- The St. Replica Shoes Online .com) - American Madison Keys grabbed a first- round victory on Sunday in a rainy start to the Apia International Sydney tournament.TORONTO - James Hinchcliffe awoke from a 20-minute nap between Sundays two races at Torontos Honda Indy and thought for a moment hed slept through his alarm. He said his nap briefly turned into a nightmare. What he didnt know was that the nightmare was yet to come. Race 2 of the IndyCar Series event was marred by several cautions, rain and contact with another driver, which would leave Hinchcliffe in 18th when the 80-minute race concluded. The Oakville, Ont., native finished Race 1 Sunday morning in eighth place, matching his personal best at Torontos Exhibition Place. "At least we have two races because before that, it was the one race that was a nightmare," said Hinchcliffe. "I think here we were in for a strong result, maybe a top five, who knows, but it wasnt meant to be today." The 27-year-old set his career-best eighth place finish in Race 1 of the 2013 event before finishing and 21st in Race 2. Hinchcliffe finished 22nd in the 2012 event while posting a 14th place finish during his rookie season in 2011. On Sunday, in Race 2, Hinchcliffes problems began on Lap 12. After Juan Pablo Montoya hit the tires in Turn 8. Hinchcliffe was unable to avoid the Colombians No. 2 car, clipping it. "The rain had just started, Juan Pablo was already in the tires there. I slowed down a lot because I saw him," explained Hinchcliffe. "(Sebastien) Bourdais had already started to go wide so I actually turned in a little early to try and give him room to get back on track. "As soon as I hit the concrete, with a little bit of rain, the thing was just backwards before I knew it. Just so annoying and disappointing." Once he was back on track, Hinchcliffe found himself four laps behind the leader. "It was so tough not racing with those guys at the end," he said. "Its just such a bummer because I think we had a really strong car. To see how the carnage played out, if we had kept our nose clean, we wouldve been up there." Hinchclliffe finished third at Exhibition Place in his first season in the Indy Lights developmental series, but it has been downhill since for him on the 11-turn, 2.dddddddddddd8-kilometre track. Earlier in the week, Hinchcliffe joked that it couldnt possibly get worse for him at the lone Canadian stop on the IndyCar schedule. "Its one of those things, were sitting up here, talking, saying what do we have to do to catch a break, here or anywhere this season?" said Hinchcliffe. "The guys did a really good job on the car. I was having so much fun out there. Even in the wet, we wouldve been quick in the wet; we wouldve been quick in anything. "The guys gave me a solid car, Im just sorry we couldnt turn it into a result." Hinchcliffe has gotten used to doing a plethora of appearances to promote the event leading up to race day at his home stop. Hinchcliffe wasnt ready to blame the hectic week for his poor performances in Toronto. Still, he said he worked with Ryann Rigsby, Andretti Autosports Director of Communications, to arrange an optimal schedule. "Ryann here helped a lot in making sure that it was no more than a normal race weekend," Hinchcliffe said. "In a lot of ways, from a time commitment point of view, it felt very much like a normal race weekend. "In years past, I think weve tried to cram in a little more than maybe we shouldve and this year we didnt." Hinchcliffe struggled with tire strategy in Race 1, which saw him start and finish in the eighth spot while dropping from 11th in the point standings to 12th. He earned 36 points total from the two races. Entering the weekends event, Hinchcliffe had started 5-of-12 races in second spot, but hasnt found the podium once in 2014. "I was probably more confident this week more than ever coming here just based on the results weve had in Detroit and Houston," he said. "You cant buy a break, it seems like right now, if youre driving a blue 27 car." ' ' '