Another close call for Petan

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This article was published 05/02/2019 (2405 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was another case of so close, yet so far, for Nic Petan.

The Winnipeg Jets winger took the pre-game warm-up for a second straight game Tuesday, only to be sent to the press box as a healthy scratch for a 17th straight contest.

On Saturday, Petan was on stand-by after Jack Roslovic cramped up during the morning skate and was questionable to play. Roslovic ended up recovering in time to score his first NHL hat trick in a 9-3 rout of the Anaheim Ducks.

On Tuesday, it was veteran centre Bryan Little who was the question mark. Little missed the morning skate with an undisclosed issue, but was good to go after testing things out just prior to puck drop.

“If he plays we’ll expect a hat trick,” Jets head coach Paul Maurice said of Little’s status.

Petan’s agent told the Free Press last week Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff is actively trying to find a new home for the fourth-year pro to give him a fresh start.

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If Dustin Byfuglien had his way, he would have suited up Tuesday night.

Instead, the veteran defenceman missed his 15th straight game as he recovers from an ankle injury. He joined the Jets for his first full practice Monday and is on the verge of returning, likely Thursday night against the Canadiens in Montreal as the Jets begin a three-game eastern road swing.

“He’s ready to play, he’d like to play. I just want to hold him out one more,” said Maurice.

“He’s had a block of almost five weeks off. He did skate during the all-star break, but (Monday) was his first practice. We’re not concerned about the injury or where it’s at. It’s all the other things — groins, hip flexors — that when you don’t get to push at a high level for a long period of time, because he’s not coming back in at 12 minutes. He’s coming back in at 20-plus minutes and he’s got to be ready to go.”

The only other injured Jets skater is Nikolaj Ehlers, who has missed 13 games with an upper-body injury. He’s been skating and is getting closer to joining a full practice.

“I think we’re seven days away from that, possibly. But he’s coming on the trip. He’s back in the part now where the conditioning and some of the ice work gets handed over to the coaches. He’s got more of a defined window. He’s not playing until a certain date. And then we’re kind of moving towards that now,” said Maurice.

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Evander Kane appears to have found his groove with the San Jose Sharks.

After a bit of a sluggish start, the power forward has been on fire lately. And his coach believes part of the turnaround can be attributed to a December game against his old team.

Kane fired 10 shots, chipping in a goal and assist, in a 5-4 loss to the Jets on Dec. 20. Since then, he had 10 goals and 10 assists in 17 games entering play Tuesday night at Bell MTS Place.

“For me, he’s been our best forward for the last month and a half. He’s been excellent. I don’t know if it was just that performance, it was a piece of it. We found him some linemates and some chemistry and he started feeling good about his game again. He’s been outstanding,” Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said following the morning skate.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg