Enstrom ready to go, Laine healthy as Jets get set for first game against Predators

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/04/2018 (2695 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NASHVILLE — He missed the entire first round, but Toby Enstrom is ready to return to the Winnipeg Jets lineup as they kick off their series tonight against the Nashville Predators.

Enstrom hasn’t played since re-aggravating a lower-body injured on March 23 but declared himself good to go following the morning skate at Bridgestone Arena. He will return to his usual pairing with Dustin Byfuglien.

“This is exciting times, the time of year you want to play hockey, so I’m just happy to be back,” said Enstrom. “I haven’t played in a while, but we’ll see how it goes tonight. I’m ready to go and it’s going to be great.”

Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey will continue to be the top shutdown pair for the Jets, while Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot appeared to be the third pairing. That will likely push Joe Morrow to the sidelines tonight as a healthy scratch.

“Joe Morrow and Ben Chiarot have played really important roles for us this year. A different style of player but equally effective. They move the puck simply. Joe has created some offence for us and Ben has been a real important penalty killer and a good physical player on the walls,” coach Paul Maurice said following the skate.

Up front, forward Patrik Laine was a full participant in the morning skate after missing Wednesday’s practice and leaving a couple others early this week. He told reporters he will play.

“I feel really good. I’m going to play tonight, of course. I just took a couple days off to get some rest and be ready,” Laine said when asked what had been ailing him. “Mostly just recovery. I was pretty exhausted after the last series, so just tried to get a little bit of rest. No issues and no concerns. So nice to play again.”

The status of Joel Armia isn’t as clear, as he did not skate this morning. Armia was hurt in last Friday’s series-clinching win over Minnesota and has skated all week in a non-contact jersey. If he can’t go, options to replace him include Matt Hendricks, Shawn Matthias and Marko Dano.

Finally, injured forward Matthieu Perreault made an appearance at the end of this morning’s skate in a non-contact jersey. He is continuing to work his way back from an injury suffered in Game 1 against Minnesota.

This will be Winnipeg’s first game action in a week, while Nashville has been off since disposing of Colorado in their first-round series Sunday.

“It’s different for a group that had a bunch of players not having any playoff experience. To be able to go into Minnesota and get that out of the way. That idea of the first game on the road, in a real loud building in Minnesota, we expect the same (in Nashville). So, there’s not the same kind of newness for our guys. Certainly, there’s been the excitement all week that I’m sure both teams have felt. From about the third practice, they had had enough practice and were ready to get going. So, both teams are really looking forward to puck drop,” said Maurice.

Winnipeg went 2-3-0 against Nashville during the regular-season. The Predators and Jets finished as the top two teams in the NHL’s regular-season and will have their hands full in trying to make it to the Western Conference finals, where the winner will play against whoever emerges from the Vegas-San Jose series.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg