The Winnipeg Jets will try to put the brakes on a two-game losing streak without their leading scorer in Toby Enstrom and against one of the National Hockey League’s true heavyweights.

But the Boston Bruins have their own issues, as well.

The Bruins will be without power forward Milan Lucic, who accompanied the team to Winnipeg Saturday and then returned to Boston later in the day to deal with a personal matter.

Game time tonight is at 5 p.m. at MTS Centre (TSNJets/ TSN1290).

"Toby is such a big part of our team, one of the best defencemen in the league," said Mark Stuart. "We’re going to miss him. Unfortunately, as a ‘D’ corps we’re used to having to pick up guys being out. He’s not a guy you can replace, but we can pick up some of his minutes and we have guys that are capable of picking up some of the offensive output. It’s just a matter of knowing what we’re missing, but just concentrating on trying to make up for him not being out there."

The loss of Enstrom will likely see Dustin Byfuglien now paired with Ron Hainsey.

""It’s a big loss for us," said Byfuglien. "He’s a key guy on our team. He’s a great partner to have out there. That’s the way it goes sometimes. It’s hard to keep the same lineup, but it gives opportunities for other guys to step up and show what they’ve got. They’ve got some shoes to fill, but we’ll be all right."

The Jets, 5-7-1, face a Bruins squad that is 8-2-2 before they head out on their longest road trip of the season, a five-game trek that begins Tuesday in Buffalo and then features games against Carolina, Philadelphia, New Jersey and the New York Rangers.

 

Ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait