If Chevy could turn back time, he would

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This article was published 25/10/2011 (5089 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff on Sunday was asked for a read on the team’s first seven games, which yielded a 2-4-1 record.

“I think there are a couple of games where we would like some individual moments back,” Cheveldayoff said on the heels of Saturday’s 5-3 win over Carolina. “But it’s a very, very difficult league to win in and there’s a very fine line.”

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The Jets face the New York Rangers tonight at the MTS Centre (7:30 p.m., TSN Jets, 1290).

The Rangers come into the game off Saturday’s 2-0 loss in Edmonton, after which coach John Tortorella was simply in no mood to discuss the game.

His address to reporters lasted a curt 16 seconds.

“Listen, this is gonna be really quick,” Tortorella said when he appeared. “I’m not taking any questions. We sucked from head to toe, and we need to move by it. So I’m not going to dissect with you guys. I know you have to do your job, but I’m not answering any questions. OK?”

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With Mark Scheifele’s departure, the Jets hinted Sunday that they may activate left-winger Kenndal McArdle, who has been injured since early in training camp.

McArdle, acquired from the Florida Panthers in July, split time between the Panthers and the AHL’s Rochester Americans last season. He played 11 NHL games, with no points.

Centre Jim Slater, who appeared to take a knee to the head on Saturday night, is questionable for tonight’s game. He’s listed as day-to-day.

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Having been pulled in the first period on Saturday, Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec had the best seat in the house for the most unusual goal of the season so far at the MTS Centre.

Pavelec had a straight-on look at Andrew Ladd’s 60-foot shot from the point that bounced up hard and into the net behind Carolina goalie Brian Boucher.

“It happened to me two years ago against Washington,” Pavelec said, recalling a goal by Washington’s Jeff Schultz on Oct. 22, 2009. Shultz’s shot came from near his own net and hopped wickedly right in front of Pavelec in the Atlanta net.

“Nothing you can do about it,” Pavelec added. “I felt bad for (Boucher) because it looks bad but there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it.”

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All the fuss about Jets coach Claude Noel’s line-switching on Saturday didn’t last long. That’s because the switches didn’t last long.

“We thought we’d try to unclog things by exchanging (Kyle) Wellwood and (Blake) Wheeler,” Noel said on Sunday while his team was taking an optional skate. “But that wasn’t working. It was clear to me we were frozen and if you’re going to unfreeze yourself, you’ve got to get people in a comfortable situation.

“So I went back to where I thought they’d be more comfortable and it seemed to work.”

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After tonight’s game against the Rangers, the Jets head off to do some heavy lifting on the road.

They play seven straight away from the MTS Centre, all against Eastern Conference rivals, beginning Thursday in Philadelphia.

“A win tomorrow would just continue to build confidence in us,” Noel said Sunday. “That’s really right now the only thing we lack. This is a process. We’re trying to learn how to win. That would just help us.

“If you’re going to be a playoff team, you’re going to have to win on the road. We’ve played enough to win on the road. We just haven’t won yet.”

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca