Things looking up on Jets’ injury front for Tanev, Lowry, Trouba

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This article was published 20/02/2018 (2812 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A top-pairing defenceman. A shut-down centre. And a depth winger who can kill penalties and bring energy.

Sounds like the wish list of any general manager looking to make a splash at the trade deadline. But for the Winnipeg Jets, these additions will soon be in the lineup, and GM Kevin Cheveldayoff won’t have to pick up the phone.

Coach Paul Maurice offered up some promising injury updates Tuesday as his team prepared to take on the Los Angeles Kings tonight at Bell MTS Place. Forward Brandon Tanev is wearing a regular-contact practice jersey and should be cleared to play within a week. Centre Adam Lowry is expected to resume skating later this week and could return to the lineup by early March. And defenceman Jacob Trouba will likely be a couple of weeks behind him.

“Lowry is ahead of Trouba. There’s a two-week window starting in March. They may both be back by the middle of March. Maybe the third week for Trouba. Those ones just take a little bit longer. Adam will be fine,” said Maurice.

That’s certainly promising news considering the recent silence surrounding Lowry’s latest injury, plus the fact he wasn’t even skating, led to speculation about how serious it might be. His size and strength up the middle of the ice, anchoring the third line, are valuable assets for a team hoping to go deep into the Stanley Cup playoffs in the spring.

Throw in backup goalie Steve Mason getting closer to returning from his second concussion of the season, plus veteran winger Shawn Matthias also close to being healthy, and things are looking promising for a team that is already flying high.

The Jets look to wrap their longest homestand in franchise history on a winning note tonight when they host the Kings.

Winnipeg has gone 6-2-1 through the first nine games at Bell MTS Place. They’re facing a team coming off a 3-1 victory Monday night in Chicago that arrived in town in the wee hours of the morning.

The Jets are 35-15-9 and tied with Nashville for top spot in the Central Division. Los Angeles is 32-22-5 and just outside the playoff line, two points behind both the final wildcard spot and third place in the Pacific Division. In other words, they’re desperate for points.

“I think we’ve done a pretty good job. It’s not always going to be perfect; going into this stretch with the success we’ve had at home, we were looking to have some (more) success here,” captain Blake Wheeler said Tuesday.

“You have to try and keep pace with the other teams in our division and our conference. Looking back, for the most part, we like what we’ve been able to do,”

Connor Hellebuyck will make his ninth straight start in net for the Jets, who go with the same lineup that beat Florida 7-2 Sunday night.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg