Niederreiter returns to Jets after scary injury

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This article was published 15/04/2024 (582 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was a case of blood, sweat and fears for Nino Niederreiter.

The veteran Winnipeg Jets winger had gone through similar plays countless times in his NHL career, yet on April 1 it had near-catastrophic results.

“I felt something in my leg but I didn’t know exactly what it was. So, I reached down a couple times and felt some blood. It started getting warm,” said Niederreiter, 31, following Monday’s optional team practice.

“That’s when I knew I had to get off and see what’s up. I got extremely lucky. It nicked my Achilles a little bit… glad I’m standing here right now.”

The incident happened in the third period when Adrian Kempe of the visiting Los Angeles Kings fell to the ice after coming in contact with Niederreiter’s linemate, Mason Appleton, after a faceoff. The L.A. forward’s skate kicked up, catching Niederreiter in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“Eight stitches. They told me I got very lucky. I did wear the cut-resistant socks. Obviously, they helped big-time at that point. (It) could have been a lot worse if I hadn’t worn them,” said Niederreiter.

“It was kind of a fluky play. I’m glad things like that don’t happen more often.”

Now, two weeks after going down, Niederreiter is ready to return to action. Just in time, too, with only two games left until the playoffs begin.

“Right now, it’s up to the coaches if (they want) to put me in or not. But I’m ready to go and I’m looking forward to it,” he said, after being a full participant in Monday’s skate.

Jets coach Rick Bowness plans to have Niederreiter in the lineup Tuesday night as the Jets (50-24-6), winners of six consecutive games, host the Seattle Kraken, who are already into next-year territory. The Swiss skater is expected to take his normal spot beside Appleton and captain Adam Lowry, which has been a steady shut-down line all year.

Winnipeg can clinch home-ice advantage in the opening round playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche by securing at least one point against Seattle. With a loss in regulation, the Jets would need to get a point in Thursday’s battle against the visiting Vancouver Canucks, or hope the Avalanche lose in any fashion later that night to the Edmonton Oilers.

“Everybody’s super excited. Obviously, it’s going to be a tough opponent with the Avalanche. Overall we know how important home ice will be here,” said Niederreiter.

“That’s why it’s important we get a point in the next two games and we’ll go from there. There’s nothing better than playing playoff hockey in general, and, obviously, in Winnipeg with the Whiteout it’s fantastic.”

David Gustafsson has filled in admirably for Niederreiter, recording a goal and two assists over the past two games as the Jets outscored the Dallas Stars and Avalanche by a combined score of 10-0.

“In general they’ve been playing some great hockey. And for Gustafsson, he’s been great all year,” Niederreiter said. “His mindset whenever he came in, he did his job very well. He competes extremely hard in practice, works hard day in and day out. It’s always great to see a player like him get rewarded.”

With a healthy roster comes some tough conversation with players such as Gustafsson, who would come out of the lineup through no fault of his own.

The Jets also have forward Cole Perfetti, with his 36 points in 70 games, currently waiting on standby as insurance, along with forward Rasmus Kupari and defencemen Nate Schmidt and Colin Miller who have been the other healthy scratches of late.

“It speaks well of the depth of the organization and the fact that we can put guys in the right roles,” said Bowness.

“Gus likes more of a role that he played with Adam and Apple. It shows the commitment to the team as well. Gus hadn’t played much, but he really worked his butt off every day, as all the guys who are not playing are doing. They’re working very hard, the coaches are working them very hard and we’re all very confident that when we put them in, they’re ready to do what we need them to do. Gus is a perfect example.”

There’s no question Niederreiter’s return is welcome. Not only does he have 18 goals and 15 assists in 75 games this season, but he also brings plenty of intangibles along with 87 games of playoff experience on his resume.

“He’s a player that can do everything,” said goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who will make his 60th start of the season against Seattle. “He’s a force around the net. Playoff time, you need that. You need those gritty goals… a rebound or a screen or a small tip. Not only that, but his defensive game is superb, so I’m glad to have him back in the lineup when we need him.”

The Jets aren’t looking beyond the Kraken, but getting home-ice secured would allow them to consider resting some key players in Thursday’s finale. It would also provide an opportunity for players such as Gustafsson and Perfetti in one more game, and maybe even a call-up or two from the Manitoba Moose such as Brad Lambert and Ville Heinola.

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Lowry, Sean Monahan, Vlad Namestnikov, Neal Pionk and backup goaltender Laurent Brossoit all missed Monday’s skate but are good to go, according to Bowness.

“The two points is important. But how we get those two points is playing good, tough, solid team (defence),” said Bowness.

“They’re a good team, Seattle. I know they’re out of the playoffs but they have speed and they beat us before in here. We have to focus on the process which we talk an awful lot about shift to shift, period to period. And if that doesn’t go our way, then we try to address it and fix it. But we want to win, we want to get home ice, we want that game (Tuesday) night.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

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Mike McIntyre
Reporter

Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.

Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.