Injuries piling up for league leading Jets

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This article was published 12/01/2024 (635 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On one hand, it would be easy to say the Winnipeg Jets are coming out of their busiest stretch of the schedule unscathed. They’ve played eight games over a 13-day stretch — and won every single one of them, setting a franchise record.

However, take a closer look under the hood and you’ll find hockey’s No. 1 team has suffered its share of nicks and scratches.

Mark Scheifele is hurting, having left Thursday’s comeback win over the Chicago Blackhawks early in the second period with some kind of ailment. He didn’t return, although it appears the club’s top centre avoided anything serious.

“Lower body, day-to-day,” coach Rick Bowness said following Friday’s practice at Canada Life Centre.

“That’s a good thing, the way he pulled up when he was skating and the way he left the ice and didn’t come back. You know he’s a tremendous competitor and those guys fight through anything. So we took the precautionary route, which is the smart thing to do.”

He wouldn’t rule Scheifele out for Saturday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers, which will be Winnipeg’s ninth over a 15-day span. Scheifele leads the Jets with 41 points (14 goals, 27 assists) in 41 games.

The same goes for Nikolaj Ehlers, who scored the winning goal against the Blackhawks with 65 seconds left in the game. The flashy winger pulled the plug on Friday’s skate after a few minutes.

“He’s dealing with an upper body. Again, do you want him to practice and aggravate it, or do you want to give him time? Hopefully he’ll play (Saturday), so we took that route as well,” said Bowness. “This time of year, you’re banged up, so rest and get ready to play.”

Ehlers is second on the team in points with 33 (15 goals, 18 assists) in 41 games.

Forward Axel Jonsson-Fjallby also missed the practice as he is dealing with illness. As a result, the Jets have recalled forward Rasmus Kupari from his conditioning assignment with the Manitoba Moose. He was expected to spend upwards of two weeks getting back up to speed following a shoulder injury. Instead, it was just three days, and one game in Belleville.

“We wanted him to play a few more games than one, but we’re not in that position right now to have the luxury, so he’s coming back,” said Bowness.

There are other players dealing with bumps and bruises, too, including a wrist issue Cole Perfetti is currently playing through, according to Bowness. The Jets are also without injured forwards Kyle Connor and David Gustafsson, who both skated Friday in yellow non-contact sweaters.

“Our depth in our team is really what makes us special,” said Perfetti.

“We have so much talent, so much depth. It is a big blow when top guys like that go out. It sucks. It hurts our team. But at the same time, guys are ready to go, ready to be in that spot. Everyone is confident with one another to fill each other’s roles to be able to play up and down the lineup. That’s a real strong suit of ours, a real special thing to have and really speaks to why we have the record that we do right now. All four lines look the same, all four lines are playing the same way.”

Because of the lingering question marks, the Jets lineup is a bit in flux. Captain Adam Lowry finished Thursday’s game on the top line and fed Gabe Vilardi for the tying goal and Ehlers for the winner.

“We’ve got to see who’s available to play, and then we’ll figure it out from there,” said Bowness. “We’ve got a bunch of names up on the wall. And we’re going to just keep moving them around to see what fits.”

The Jets will be catching a Flyers team that might be feeling some fatigue as well, since they played Friday night in St. Paul against the Minnesota Wild.

“They’re always known for that kind of hard-nosed, grinding hockey so we’ve got to be prepared. We know what they’re all about so we’ll be prepared as well,” said forward Vlad Namestnikov, who is currently centring the second line between Perfetti and Alex Iafallo.

Winnipeg’s gruelling schedule really lightens up after they face the Flyers. They have just five games over the following 23 days, as both the player and all-star break occur near the end of the month.

Despite all the success they’ve enjoyed, Bowness and his troops are looking forward to it.

“There’s wear and tear on you with the travel. So you go through the heavy part, we got through it fortunately in good shape,” said Bowness. “Now it’s important to manage the players and their ice time and their rest.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg