Celebrations broke out at Portage and Main Thursday night after the Winnipeg Jets clinched a wild card spot in the NHL playoffs.
The city buzzed with excitement as the team tried to punch its ticket to the post-season for the first time since the league returned to Winnipeg in 2011.
The last time the city hosted an NHL playoff game was in April 1996 before the original team relocated to Phoenix.
Fans anxiously watched three regulation periods of the Jets game in Colorado that went into overtime and then a shootout.
While the Avalanche won 1-0 in the shootout, the loss didn’t seal the Jets’ fate.
Televisions were switched to watch the Calgary Flames defeat the L.A. Kings.
The Kings loss allowed the Jets to clinch the wild card spot.
Winnipeggers filled the streets with “go Jets go” chants and dozens gathered at the famed downtown intersection, which police blocked off to traffic.
The Winnipeg Jets announced Stanley Cup playoff tickets will go on sale Tuesday, April 14 at 10 a.m.
For more information on how to purchase tickets, visit the Jets website.
Fans lucky enough to get tickets to those games can now become a part of the city’s traditional Whiteout.
White t-shirts with the slogan “Our Team, Our Tradition” had Jets faithful lining up outside the Jets Gear store outside MTS Centre on Friday.
