Winnipeg Jets goalie Chris Mason was discussing tonight's game against the Canes, and his three wins against them this season, when the talk turned to the All-Star Game break.
"Sometimes you can take a break before you actually get to the break," said Mason, who will start tonight.
In other words, begin to mentally relax. That shouldn't be a problem for the Jets, who play the New York Rangers tomorrow night in New York before starting their All-Star break. And the Jets had a very focused morning skate today at the RBC Center.
Another reason: the Jets (22-20-6) are 10th in the Eastern Conference, three points out of playoff position.
"When you're trying to get a playoff spot, every game had a magnitude to it and every game has implications," Mason said.
As for the Canes (17-24-9), they're last in the East and 10 points out of playoff position, so the implications aren't as big. They're also playing their last game before the All-Star break, with mini-vacations planned.
But the Canes are playing on home ice. They're 5-13-6 on the road this season but are 12-11-3 at home and 7-2-1 in their last 10 at the RBC Center.
The Canes will have 31 games remaining after the break, and believe they still can make a strong run and get into the playoff chase.
"It's pretty hard to make a jump ahead of five or six teams, because some of those teams will be winning," forward Anthony Stewart said. "But that's our goal. We're not totally out of it. We'll need to put a string together of a couple of four- or five-game winning streaks. Do that and we're right in the mix."
The Jets will be playing tonight without Evander Kane, who has been sidelined by a concussion, and Dustin Byfuglien, who has been out since Dec. 27 with a lower-body injury. But Mason -- 5-2-1 in his career against Carolina with a 1.39 GAA -- again is in net and the Jets have outscored the Canes 12-6 in their three wins this season.
The Canes will have no lineup changes tonight from Saturday's New York Islanders game. Defenseman Jaroslav Spacek will be the scratch.
“We can’t get in a fire-wagon kind of game with these guys," Canes coach Kirk Muller said today. "Our success lately has been tightening things up, keeping it low-scoring.
"We know this team is going to come hard and come after us, and we have to be ready for a high-tempo type game, which is good for us. We have to be prepared because this is our last game before break. We have to come with that focus tonight.”
And not take a break before the break.
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at 
