Too soon for Lemieux

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This article was published 17/10/2017 (2888 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brendan Lemieux’s National Hockey League debut will have to wait another day.

Lemieux was a surprise recall from the Manitoba Moose on Tuesday, prompting speculation he could be in the lineup for the Winnipeg Jets Tuesday against the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets. He took the pre-game skate but was a scratch for the game. It appears he was up strictly for insurance, given the Jets had no extra healthy forwards available.

Lemieux, 21, is off to a strong start with the Moose, scoring three goals and adding two assists along with nine penalty minutes in four American Hockey League games this season. He had 12 goals, seven assists and a team-high 130 penalty minutes in 61 games last year with the Moose.

The son of former NHL star Claude Lemieux joined the organization as part of the Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian blockbuster trade in 2015 that also brought Tyler Myers, Joel Armia, the now-departed Drew Stafford and the draft pick that turned out to be Jack Roslovic to town.

Lemieux would add an intriguing element of talent and toughness to a bottom-six group of forwards that is struggling to produce much of anything for the Jets so far this season.

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The injured-reserve list is getting crowded.

Adam Lowry is the latest addition, joining fellow forwards Mathieu Perreault and Matt Hendricks. Lowry suffered an upper-body injury on Thursday in Vancouver and has missed the past two games. Jets head coach Paul Maurice said earlier this week Lowry may be ready to play when the Jets host the Minnesota Wild on Friday.

The same goes for Hendricks, who was hurt blocking a shot during the pre-season and has yet to suit up for a regular-season game. Perreault is expected to be out at least a month after getting injured on Saturday, also while blocking a shot.

On the blue line, Dmitry Kulikov missed Tuesday’s game with a lower-body injury caused by being on the wrong end of a big hit Saturday. He could be out as long as two weeks. Tucker Poolman took his spot in the lineup. The Jets also have defenceman Ben Chiarot as an option, although he has yet to play this season.

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Mark Flood’s return to Winnipeg was short-lived.

The former Winnipeg Jets defenceman was in town on a professional tryout offer with the Manitoba Moose, trying to earn a spot after several years playing overseas. Now 33, Flood dressed in the season opener last weekend in Grand Rapids, going pointless and a minus-three on the night. He was a healthy scratch for the past three games.

The biggest problem for Flood was the number of young prospects stacked on the blue line for the Moose. As well, Manitoba was carrying one more veteran player than can dress each game under AHL rules, so he likely wasn’t going to see a lot of playing time as a result of the bloated roster.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @mikemcintyrewpg